HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 107 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 357 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 5.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,976,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter worth $3,564,000. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP now owns 3,230 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,946,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter valued at about $801,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 22.6% in the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,368,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $2,070.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,121.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,947.36. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,363.97 and a 1 year high of $2,388.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business 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 posted $55.92 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $1.95 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCNCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,243.64.

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.