Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 43.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,333 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $7,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 8,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,217,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 577.7% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 759 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 11.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 40,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,650,000 after purchasing an additional 4,264 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 58.1% during the third quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% in the second quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 28,376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,517,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FCNCA shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,000.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,600.00 to $2,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered First Citizens BancShares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2,300.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $2,500.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $2,100.00 to $2,200.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,254.18.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,097.35 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $1,473.62 and a one year high of $2,237.50. The stock has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2,083.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,948.44.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.24 by $7.03. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 15.21%.The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Equities research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 5.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,629.67 per share, with a total value of $220,005.45. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,118,176.09. This represents a 5.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany purchased 300 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,000.00 per share, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 13.19% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full‑service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.