EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,210 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,227,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,826 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,976,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter worth about $3,564,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 301.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,244 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 14.1% in the third quarter. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP now owns 3,230 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,946,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 2,916 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,196.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2,088.79 and a 200 day moving average of $1,929.12. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,363.97 and a 52-week high of $2,388.78.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for 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 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 187.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.95 per share. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 4.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCNCA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $2,100.00 to $2,500.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush dropped their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,025.00 to $2,625.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2,113.40.

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.