First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Shares Acquired by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 85 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FCNCA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 106.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,105,554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $735,855,000 after acquiring an additional 568,929 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 113.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 371,016 shares of the bank’s stock worth $246,949,000 after buying an additional 196,851 shares during the period. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth about $158,509,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the second quarter worth about $15,016,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 53.7% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 402,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $267,966,000 after buying an additional 140,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,800.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays started coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1,850.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the stock 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 from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, April 15th. One 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,768.63.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

FCNCA stock opened at $1,567.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $945.32 and a 1 year high of $1,651.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,564.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,468.06.

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

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 0.84%.

Insider Activity

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Olivia Britton Holding acquired 466 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $612,790.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 121,694 shares in the company, valued at $160,027,610. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,388 shares of company stock worth $1,825,220. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.