American Trust Increases Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

American Trust lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 91.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth $31,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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 research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,012.11.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,827.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,274.91 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The company has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,953.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,778.01.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $52.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

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

About First Citizens BancShares

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.