Azora Capital LP Sells 25,422 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Azora Capital LP lowered its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 42.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,405 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,422 shares during the period. First Citizens BancShares accounts for 3.4% of Azora Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.24% of First Citizens BancShares worth $63,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 323,532 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $595,607,000 after purchasing an additional 33,713 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 15.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 58,529 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,749,000 after buying an additional 7,613 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 0.7% in the third quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 56,798 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $104,562,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,156 shares of the bank’s stock worth $86,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 225.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 42,159 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,979,000 after acquiring an additional 29,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on FCNCA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,000.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,093.40.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,295.00 on Monday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,363.97 and a 12-month high of $2,388.78. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2,055.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,913.78. The firm has a market cap of $32.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $45.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $47.40 by ($1.53). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $55.92 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 187.88 earnings per share for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is an increase from First Citizens BancShares’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 3.76%.

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.