EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,210 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,227,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Raymond James & Associates raised 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 purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,564,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 301.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,244 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the period. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP now owns 3,230 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,946,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,368,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,600.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,157.64.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 2.0 %

FCNCA traded down $44.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $2,152.41. The company had a trading volume of 92,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,641. 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 $1,363.97 and a 12-month high of $2,388.78. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $2,088.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,929.12. The company has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.83.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $55.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares's payout ratio is currently 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.