GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 35 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,064,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,740,984,000 after purchasing an additional 47,167 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 239,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $339,933,000 after buying an additional 41,793 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter worth about $298,180,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 58,583 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,783,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 46,626 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,161,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $2,021.10 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,936.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,797.77. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,290.60 and a 52-week high of $2,174.80. The company has a market cap of $29.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $52.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCNCA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their price target 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, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,012.11.

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.