443 First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA Shares Sold by Cortland Associates Inc. MO

Key Points

• Cortland Associates reduced its First Citizens BancShares position by 3.9%, selling 443 shares and retaining 11,055 shares valued at approximately $22.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.01% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $2,355.31, while FCNCA recently traded at $2,368.26.
• First Citizens exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $55.37 in EPS versus $46.18 expected, and announced a dividend increase to $2.25 per share along with a $1.2 billion share-repurchase authorization.

Cortland Associates Inc. MO decreased its position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,055 shares of the bank's stock after selling 443 shares during the quarter. First Citizens BancShares comprises approximately 3.3% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO owned approximately 0.10% of First Citizens BancShares worth $22,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 20.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 91,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $174,048,000 after acquiring an additional 15,788 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 43,247 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,506,000 after acquiring an additional 13,366 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 137.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 15,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,809,000 after acquiring an additional 8,860 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 84,206 shares of the bank's stock valued at $175,253,000 after purchasing an additional 5,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 13,413 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,573 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $2,300.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,430.00 to $2,730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $2,300.00 to $2,200.00 in a report on Monday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2,355.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total value of $136,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $292,950. This trade represents a 31.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Diane E. Morais purchased 50 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2,168.11 per share, for a total transaction of $108,405.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $216,811. This represents a 100.00% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 14.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 0.7%

FCNCA stock opened at $2,368.26 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,759.27 and a 52-week high of $2,429.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $2,153.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,065.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.58.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The bank reported $55.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $46.18 by $9.19. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 201.38 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.25 per share. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares's previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.30%.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, October 23rd that authorizes the company to buy back $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About First Citizens BancShares

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Its principal subsidiary, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through a network of branches and digital banking channels.

The bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and residential lending, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment services.

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