First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA Shares Newly Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,600 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $7,417,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 125,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 2.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 94,938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $196,854,000 after acquiring an additional 2,239 shares during the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 7.5% during the second quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 84,206 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,253,000 after acquiring an additional 5,909 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 44.7% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 43,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,506,000 after purchasing an additional 13,366 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 5.0% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 18,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Diane Morais bought 50 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2,168.11 per share, for a total transaction of $108,405.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,811. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total value of $136,710.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,950. This represents a 31.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 14.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

FCNCA stock opened at $2,317.86 on Friday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,759.27 and a 12 month high of $2,429.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $2,176.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,072.96. The stock has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.61.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The bank reported $55.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $46.18 by $9.19. The company had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 12.63%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 203.78 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, October 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.10. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 4.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FCNCA. Barclays raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,376.00 to $2,650.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $2,550.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised First Citizens BancShares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered First Citizens BancShares from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $2,300.00 to $2,200.00 in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,355.31.

First Citizens BancShares Company Profile

First Citizens BancShares is a bank holding company headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the parent of First Citizens Bank. The company provides commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, payment services, and wealth management, to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Founded in 1898 as the Bank of Smithfield, the company grew from its North Carolina roots into a banking organization serving customers across the United States. Its operations include First Citizens Bank and Silicon Valley Bank, which became part of the company after it acquired substantially all of Silicon Valley Bank’s deposits and loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2023.