First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,642 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,786 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.29% of First Citizens BancShares worth $67,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 577.7% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 759 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 484.7% in the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $415,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 16,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,305,000 after purchasing an additional 3,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 43,787 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCNCA. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,600.00 to $2,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group set a $2,325.00 price target on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut First Citizens BancShares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2,300.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,000.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,238.27.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,898.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2,102.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,955.99. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,473.62 and a 12 month high of $2,232.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.24 by $7.03. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.18% and a net margin of 15.21%.The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. As a group, analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 5.07%.

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.