National Pension Service Has $7.71 Million Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,593 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $7,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 15 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 280.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,939.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,623.76 and a 52-week high of $2,232.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,952.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,994.35.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $43.31 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 11.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $37.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 177.84 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 4.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 5,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,726.82 per share, for a total transaction of $10,257,310.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,810,837.02. This trade represents a 18.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 6,198 shares of company stock valued at $10,661,547. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,375.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2,215.91.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full‑service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.