Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 17.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,672 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $4,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 46,180 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,528,000 after purchasing an additional 26,107 shares in the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. BHZ Capital Management LP raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. BHZ Capital Management LP now owns 4,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Capital Management LLP grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP now owns 26,320 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,347,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,005.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,012.11.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of FCNCA opened at $1,939.90 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,939.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,789.51. The firm has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.81. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,290.60 and a 12-month high of $2,174.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $50.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $44.91 by $5.96. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $52.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 200.92 EPS for the current year.

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

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.64%.

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.