Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 6,773.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,921 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,573 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.16% of First Citizens BancShares worth $40,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at about $298,180,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 47,167 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 valued at $339,933,000 after buying an additional 41,793 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 46,180 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,528,000 after buying an additional 26,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 770.1% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 27,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,312,000 after buying an additional 24,528 shares in the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FCNCA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,927.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,965.18 on Monday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,274.91 and a 1 year high of $2,174.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,949.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,762.28. The firm has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.91 by $5.96. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned $52.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.64%.

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

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.