Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 46.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,962 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $75,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Retireful LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter valued at $801,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 288,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $531,961,000 after purchasing an additional 18,501 shares during the period. Check Capital Management Inc. CA lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA now owns 33,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,995,000 after purchasing an additional 5,605 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 3,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,811,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,156 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,835.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,066.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,058.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,518.00 and a 52 week high of $2,412.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 13.22%. On average, equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.12%.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,146,369.33. This trade represents a 1.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FCNCA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $2,250.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,288.08.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

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.