First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Now Covered by UBS Group

UBS Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $2,700.00 target price on the bank's stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FCNCA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $2,600.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,243.64.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA traded down $15.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $2,107.94. The stock had a trading volume of 129,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,757. The firm's 50 day moving average is $2,117.01 and its 200 day moving average is $1,943.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.83. First Citizens BancShares has a twelve month low of $1,363.97 and a twelve month high of $2,388.78.

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

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank's stock valued at $595,607,000 after buying an additional 33,713 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 58,529 shares of the bank's stock valued at $107,749,000 after purchasing an additional 7,613 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,798 shares of the bank's stock valued at $104,562,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,156 shares of the bank's stock worth $86,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% during the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 29,194 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.