California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,675 shares of the bank's stock after selling 1,026 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of First Citizens BancShares worth $45,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew 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 acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCNCA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,600.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,700.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays increased 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,288.08.

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First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA traded down $60.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,571.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 259,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,354. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,991.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,051.38. The firm has a market capitalization 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 one year low of $1,470.15 and a one year high of $2,412.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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%. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.95 per share. 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 is presently 4.12%.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,146,369.33. This represents a 1.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.