Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 61 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 307 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 215 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 450 shares of the bank’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 3.9% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 1.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 61.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $2,026.58 on Wednesday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $1,939.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,800.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $29.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.81.

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

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. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.64%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FCNCA. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $2,450.00 to $2,150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Raymond James raised 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 report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2,012.11.

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.