Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 5,625 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 562,500.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,626 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,625 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $10,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,077 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,866,000 after purchasing an additional 5,172 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 19.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,709,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2,583.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 805 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 67.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 6,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 300.0% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA traded down $48.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $2,066.54. 37,891 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 85,391. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $1,290.60 and a one year high of $2,174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,949.68 and its 200 day moving average is $1,813.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.81.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.91 by $5.96. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $52.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.64%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on FCNCA. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James raised First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wedbush lowered First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,012.11.

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.