1,000 Shares in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Purchased by Freemont Management S.A.

Freemont Management S.A. purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,841,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at $298,180,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3,577.5% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 35,010 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,943,000 after purchasing an additional 34,058 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $70,979,000 after purchasing an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 770.1% during the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 27,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,312,000 after purchasing an additional 24,528 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FCNCA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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 note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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 note on Monday, July 29th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $2,163.07 on Thursday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,363.97 and a 52 week high of $2,275.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,963.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,865.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.80.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 17.36% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.92 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

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

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.