Optas LLC Invests $526,000 in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Optas LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 294 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. MAI Capital Management increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 500.0% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 18 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 35.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 23 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCNCA. UBS Group lifted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,200.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,000.00 to $2,050.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,300.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,149.09.

Insider Activity

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

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $2,168.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,882.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,915.06. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,473.62 and a 52 week high of $2,412.93. The stock has a market cap of $26.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.71.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $44.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $41.51 by $3.11. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 11.09%. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.97%.

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.