Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 357 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 13 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FCNCA. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 756.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 38,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,046,000 after purchasing an additional 33,950 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 189,186 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $261,095,000 after purchasing an additional 27,729 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3,091.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 23,905 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,203,000 after purchasing an additional 23,156 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,176,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,010,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,394,935,000 after purchasing an additional 17,142 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCNCA has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $1,850.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,800.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,650.00 price objective (up previously from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,768.63.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $1,622.75 on Tuesday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $945.32 and a 52 week high of $1,651.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,566.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,472.16. The firm has a market cap of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $46.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $48.49 by ($1.91). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 51.04%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 177.19 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 0.84%.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In related news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total transaction of $935,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $817,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 97,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,355,835. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total value of $935,454.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,549,113.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,388 shares of company stock worth $1,825,220 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.85% of the company’s stock.

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.