CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Grows Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,550 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $9,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth about $503,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 800 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 155 shares of the bank's stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 4,176 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,824,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $376,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FCNCA. StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $2,250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,346.09.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA traded up $18.61 on Thursday, hitting $1,790.65. 133,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,623. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $1,824.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,025.79. 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 12 month low of $1,473.62 and a 12 month high of $2,412.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $37.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $38.10 by ($0.31). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 18.55%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.12%.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CFO Craig L. Nix purchased 17 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 1,141 shares in the company, valued at $2,146,369.33. This represents a 1.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 13.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.