BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 374.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,261 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,837 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $34,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,031 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $531,961,000 after acquiring an additional 18,501 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at $39,739,000. Check Capital Management Inc. CA grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA now owns 33,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,995,000 after acquiring an additional 5,605 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,811,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCNCA. Truist Financial boosted their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,303.00 to $2,384.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,568.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upgraded 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,330.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In related news, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,146,369.33. This trade represents a 1.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,610.00 per share, for a total transaction of $563,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,758 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,380. This trade represents a 14.53 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,830.22 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,771.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,009.82. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,473.62 and a fifty-two week high of $2,412.93. The firm has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $37.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.72 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.47%.

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.