Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Sells 502 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. cut its stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,840 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 502 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $5,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 4.6% in the first 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 during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter valued at about $298,180,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,562,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% in the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,979,000 after buying an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 16.8% during the second quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 37,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $63,974,000 after buying an additional 5,467 shares during the period. 61.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,921.51 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,940.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,845.91. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,363.97 and a 1-year high of $2,174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.80.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 17.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $55.92 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is 4.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FCNCA. Barclays boosted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,025.90.

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.