First Bank & Trust Has $460,000 Stock Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

First Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the quarter. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 66 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FCNCA. Wedbush lowered their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of FCNCA stock traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,881.83. 133,780 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,645. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,339.10 and a 1-year high of $2,174.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,948.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,824.36.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $55.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is presently 3.64%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.