Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 11,408 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 46.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,962 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.26% of First Citizens BancShares worth $75,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on FCNCA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,568.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,288.08.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,835.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,518.00 and a 52 week high of $2,412.93. 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 50 day moving average price of $2,066.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,058.83.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. The trade was a 1.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 13.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.