Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Grows Stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 4.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 314 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 13.7% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 183 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth $263,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at $659,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 67.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 6,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 46.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,305 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,849,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,163.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,963.24 and a 200 day moving average of $1,865.89. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,363.97 and a 52 week high of $2,275.90.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. During the same period last year, the company posted $55.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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 0.36%. 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%.

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.