Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 46 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 15.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 348 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter worth about $33,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on FCNCA shares. StockNews.com downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $1,881.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,948.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,825.89. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,339.10 and a fifty-two week high of $2,174.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.81.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 18.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $55.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 198.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $1.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.61%.

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.