abrdn plc Buys 746 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

abrdn plc boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,425 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $4,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter worth $221,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 16.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,178,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 22.0% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the bank’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,926.77 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,359.29 and a 52-week high of $2,174.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,942.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,838.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 0.80.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.92 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.76%.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCNCA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 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. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Profile

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.