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

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 784 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $1,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 106.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,105,554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $735,855,000 after purchasing an additional 568,929 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 594,276 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $395,550,000 after acquiring an additional 140,410 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 53.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 402,593 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $267,966,000 after acquiring an additional 140,626 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 113.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 371,016 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $246,949,000 after acquiring an additional 196,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 88.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $179,001,000 after acquiring an additional 126,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started 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 target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,650.00 price target (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday. Barclays started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $1,850.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,768.63.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 1.1 %

FCNCA stock opened at $1,550.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $945.32 and a fifty-two week high of $1,651.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,561.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,465.85. The stock has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.89.

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

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 0.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total transaction of $935,454.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total transaction of $935,454.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding bought 466 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, for a total transaction of $612,790.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 121,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,027,610. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 1,388 shares of company stock valued at $1,825,220. Company insiders own 12.85% of the company’s stock.

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.