Royce & Associates LP Cuts Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 54.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,037 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 13,388 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.08% of First Citizens BancShares worth $23,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% during the third 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $531,961,000 after buying an additional 18,501 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at about $147,341,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 15.0% during the third 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 buying an additional 7,613 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 57,981 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CFO Craig L. Nix purchased 17 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, for a total transaction of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares in the company, valued at $2,146,369.33. This represents a 1.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,807.49 on Monday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,517.99 and a fifty-two week high of $2,412.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,078.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,061.30. The company has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. Analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCNCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,568.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,323.50.

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.