Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Invests $3.87 Million in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Key Points

• Empirical Wealth Management invested approximately $3.87 million in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. by acquiring 2,089 shares in the first quarter.
• First Citizens BancShares recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.95 per share, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.
• The company's stock has shown significant performance, with a 52-week high of $2,412.93 and recent earnings exceeding expectations with $44.78 earnings per share.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,089 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $3,873,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tredje AP fonden boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 101.7% in the first quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 12,171 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,566,000 after buying an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 101.3% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 475 shares of the bank's stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,853,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 11,625.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 469 shares of the bank's stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 92.6% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 622 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding purchased 66 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,735.00 per share, with a total value of $114,510.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 121,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $211,541,610. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 13.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCNCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $2,150.00 price target on First Citizens BancShares and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $2,410.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,400.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2,291.17.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA traded down $24.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,859.34. The company had a trading volume of 102,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,474. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,473.62 and a 52-week high of $2,412.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,967.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,931.09.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The bank reported $44.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.08 by $5.70. The firm had revenue of $2.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 16.37%. On average, analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's payout ratio is 4.60%.

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.