Meitav Investment House Ltd. Raises Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,866,000 after buying an additional 5,172 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 19.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,709,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2,583.3% during the first 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. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,444 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,826 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,976,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,937.35 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,945.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,833.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $55.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 198.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.33%.

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.