First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA Position Boosted by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 577.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 759 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 4.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 417,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $816,022,000 after buying an additional 15,921 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 2nd quarter worth $177,604,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 79,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $154,819,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.4% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 70,248 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,715,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 66,276 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCNCA. Raymond James Financial upgraded First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,200.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $2,500.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,600.00 to $2,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2,300.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,254.18.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA opened at $2,069.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $2,078.48 and its 200-day moving average is $1,949.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.69. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,473.62 and a fifty-two week high of $2,245.33.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.24 by $7.03. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 11.12%. Equities research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 5.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,629.67 per share, with a total value of $220,005.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,118,176.09. This trade represents a 5.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany purchased 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,000.00 per share, with a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full‑service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.