Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 1,675 First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,675 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,357,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 23.4% in the third quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 475 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 12.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 418 shares of the bank’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 23,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,922,000 after acquiring an additional 10,457 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,079 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,191,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,766.24, for a total value of $1,766,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,335 shares in the company, valued at $4,124,170.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,766.24, for a total value of $1,766,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,124,170.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on 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 owns 4,842 shares in the company, valued at $7,549,113.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,600 shares of company stock worth $6,209,022. 13.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,650.00 price target (up previously from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $2,100.00 target price (up previously from $1,900.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,829.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA traded down $9.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,631.83. 36,921 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 91,224. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,686.45 and its 200 day moving average is $1,560.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,181.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,810.03.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $52.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $44.27 by $8.65. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 18.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 188.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.64%.

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.