First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 3.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,171 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $7,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at approximately $391,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,046,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 120.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 66 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on FCNCA shares. Wedbush cut their target price 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, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,157.64.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA opened at $2,074.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,363.97 and a 1 year high of $2,388.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2,110.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,936.47.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $55.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.47%.

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.