Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3.63 Million Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,785 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,533 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 8.3% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,039 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,433,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 28,835 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,547,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 84.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,751 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 145.7% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 398 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCNCA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,243.64.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

FCNCA stock opened at $2,152.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2,129.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,961.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,363.97 and a 52-week high of $2,388.78.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $55.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 187.88 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.47%.

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.