Commerce Bank Increases Stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 4,762.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,345 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,906 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank owned 0.15% of First Citizens BancShares worth $39,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FCNCA. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 2,583.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 805 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the period. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at $229,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the first quarter valued at $298,180,000. Finally, JT Stratford LLC lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 334.3% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the period. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FCNCA. StockNews.com raised First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of 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. Wedbush dropped 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,950.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,025.90.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

FCNCA opened at $2,217.73 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,986.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,880.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. 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 capitalization of $31.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $47.40 by ($1.53). First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 17.36%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $55.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 189.06 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Increases Dividend

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

First Citizens BancShares declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

First Citizens BancShares 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.