First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,229 shares of the bank's stock after selling 9,531 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.53% of First Citizens BancShares worth $156,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 16 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA traded down $60.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,571.21. The stock had a trading volume of 259,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,354. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,991.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,051.38. The company has a market cap of $21.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.66. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,470.15 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.

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

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCNCA has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,303.00 to $2,384.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,568.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,288.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Craig L. Nix purchased 17 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. This trade represents a 1.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 13.19% of the company's stock.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.