Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,229 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,531 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.53% of First Citizens BancShares worth $156,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 392,097 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $828,510,000 after purchasing an additional 103,137 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth $298,426,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,341,000. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 57,981 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 128.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 54,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $115,859,000 after purchasing an additional 30,828 shares in the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,288.08.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CFO Craig L. Nix acquired 17 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, with a total value of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares in the company, valued at $2,146,369.33. The trade was a 1.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of FCNCA opened at $1,823.47 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $2,010.73 and its 200 day moving average is $2,055.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,518.00 and a fifty-two week high of $2,412.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 18.55%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.12%.

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.