IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys Shares of 2,260 First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,260 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,695,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 145.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 89.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,716,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3,091.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 23,905 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,203,000 after acquiring an additional 23,156 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,803 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,602,000 after purchasing an additional 5,952 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 49.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 47,287 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,261,000 after acquiring an additional 15,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FCNCA. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,800.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,650.00 price objective (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler downgraded First Citizens BancShares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,829.90.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA traded down $45.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,754.50. 107,438 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,173. The firm has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,582.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,480.23. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $945.32 and a 52 week high of $1,810.03.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 18.22%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 179.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.64%.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 622 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 $817,930.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 97,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,355,835. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total transaction of $935,454.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 622 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $817,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 97,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,355,835. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 1,388 shares of company stock valued at $1,825,220. Corporate insiders own 13.40% 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.