First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Shares Down 4%

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) were down 4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $1,877.30 and last traded at $1,877.30. Approximately 121,436 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 86,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,955.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FCNCA. Barclays lifted their target price on 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wedbush cut First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,962.90.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,952.91 and a 200-day moving average of $1,765.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $52.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio 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.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

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

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.