First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 784 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 23 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FCNCA. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,800.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,650.00 price objective (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,768.63.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,550.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,561.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,465.85. The company has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.89. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $945.32 and a 12 month high of $1,651.73.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $46.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $48.49 by ($1.91). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 51.04% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 178.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 0.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $817,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 97,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,355,835. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $817,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 97,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,355,835. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding bought 466 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, for a total transaction of $612,790.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 121,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,027,610. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,388 shares of company stock valued at $1,825,220. Insiders own 12.85% of the company’s stock.

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.