Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 81.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 272 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $1,965.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,949.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,759.84. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,274.91 and a 52-week high of $2,174.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.82.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $52.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.64%.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of 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. Five investment 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, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,927.90.

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.