Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in First Citizens BancShares by 7.7%, owning approximately 7.04% of the company after selling nearly 80,000 shares during the first quarter.
• First Citizens BancShares announced a quarterly dividend of $1.95 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%.
• The company reported $44.78 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $39.08.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 955,194 shares of the bank's stock after selling 79,649 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.04% of First Citizens BancShares worth $1,771,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 155 shares of the bank's stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 54.5% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 17 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.3% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 632 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.8% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 221 shares of the bank's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,568.00 to $2,400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $2,050.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,900.00 to $2,050.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $2,150.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2,291.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding bought 409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,630.00 per share, for a total transaction of $666,670.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,764 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,875,320. This trade represents a 30.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,698.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,019,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 32,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,869,625. This represents a 1.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,494 shares of company stock valued at $2,485,986. Company insiders own 13.19% of the company's stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock traded up $20.80 on Monday, reaching $1,848.93. 138,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 111,216. 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 50 day moving average of $1,968.06 and a 200 day moving average of $1,918.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.60%.

First Citizens BancShares Company 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.