Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Sells 6 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 2.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 241 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 44.5% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 575 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 4.7% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter valued at $368,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 29.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,401 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter worth $201,000. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of FCNCA opened at $2,200.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,973.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,871.30. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,363.97 and a 1-year high of $2,275.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.80.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $55.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is presently 3.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,025.90.

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.