Covey Capital Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Covey Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 212.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 985 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. First Citizens BancShares comprises approximately 2.1% of Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Covey Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $1,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 37 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 32.5% during the 2nd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 53 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 66 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,698.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,019,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 32,300 shares in the company, valued at $54,869,625. The trade was a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding acquired 409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,630.00 per share, for a total transaction of $666,670.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,875,320. This trade represents a 30.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,428 shares of company stock worth $2,371,476 over the last quarter. 13.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FCNCA. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,250.00 to $1,950.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Raymond James Financial set a $2,100.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,400.00 to $2,190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $2,410.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,170.83.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

FCNCA opened at $1,778.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.60. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,848.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,885.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $44.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $41.51 by $3.11. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 11.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.97%.

First Citizens BancShares Company 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.