Public Sector Pension Investment Board Decreases Stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $2,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FCNCA. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,845.53 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,954.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,773.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.82. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,274.91 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $52.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FCNCA shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price target for the company. Wedbush downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Raymond James upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,012.11.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts.