Connable Office Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Connable Office Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter worth approximately $298,180,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,740,984,000 after buying an additional 47,167 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,943,000 after buying an additional 34,058 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% in the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,979,000 after buying an additional 29,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 770.1% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 27,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,312,000 after buying an additional 24,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $2,200.46 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 company has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,973.28 and a 200 day moving average of $1,871.30. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,363.97 and a 52 week high of $2,275.90.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $55.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 3.76%.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush cut their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,025.90.

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.