Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,034,843 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 28,935 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of First Citizens BancShares worth $2,186,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $2,250.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,568.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,288.08.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,877.75 on Thursday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,518.00 and a twelve month high of $2,412.93. The company has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2,038.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2,053.98.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 18.55%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 4.12%.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CFO Craig L. Nix purchased 17 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, for a total transaction of $31,979.21. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. The trade was a 1.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

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.