Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Reduces Stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 72 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 88 shares of the bank’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reduced their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 target price on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,323.50.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

FCNCA stock opened at $2,125.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.85. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,460.76 and a 1 year high of $2,412.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $2,146.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $2,065.53.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 18.55%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 165.15 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.12%.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.