National Pension Service Decreases Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,140 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,611 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.13% of First Citizens BancShares worth $35,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,740,984,000 after acquiring an additional 47,167 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter worth about $298,180,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% during the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,798 shares of the bank's stock worth $104,562,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% in the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,979,000 after buying an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 37,998 shares of the bank's stock worth $63,974,000 after buying an additional 5,467 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FCNCA shares. Wedbush cut their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA traded down $99.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2,172.87. The company had a trading volume of 125,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,575. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $1,946.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,848.89. The stock has a market cap of $31.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,363.97 and a twelve month high of $2,275.90.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted 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). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $55.92 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio is presently 3.76%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.