KBC Group NV Sells 357 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

KBC Group NV cut its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,116 shares of the bank's stock after selling 357 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.13% of First Citizens BancShares worth $33,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 120.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 66 shares of the bank's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 129.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 2.3 %

First Citizens BancShares stock traded up $48.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2,200.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 63,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,440. 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 cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,973.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,871.30. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,363.97 and a 12 month high of $2,275.90.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $55.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares's payout ratio is currently 3.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCNCA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush dropped their price target 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares 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.