Ascent Group LLC Takes $201,000 Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 95 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,195 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,246,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% during the 3rd 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. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,789 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,006,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Craig L. Nix purchased 17 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, for a total transaction of $31,979.21. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,610.00 per share, for a total transaction of $563,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,380. This trade represents a 14.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 13.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FCNCA. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,400.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $2,050.00 price target 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 objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,568.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,340.33.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,833.89 on Thursday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,473.62 and a 52 week high of $2,412.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,791.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,998.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $37.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.72 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for 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%. Analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

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

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.