Norges Bank Makes New $116.57 Million Investment in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 54,313 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $116,565,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 15 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 280.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 40.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. sold 5,346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,918.69, for a total value of $10,257,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,123,823.26. This trade represents a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 6,187 shares of company stock valued at $10,640,161 in the last three months. Company insiders own 14.63% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 4.7%

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,047.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.62. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,623.76 and a 52 week high of $2,232.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,961.38 and a 200 day moving average of $1,997.84.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $37.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 177.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FCNCA. Piper Sandler set a $2,050.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised First Citizens BancShares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,200.00 to $2,150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2,215.91.

First Citizens BancShares 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.