BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 732 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 60.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,943 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $3,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter worth about $49,000. 61.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,845.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,954.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,770.76. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,274.91 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.82.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.91 by $5.96. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $52.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.64%.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCNCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,962.90.

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.