Balentine LLC Acquires 16 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Balentine LLC boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FCNCA. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in First Citizens BancShares by 362.5% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 37 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,650.00 price target (up from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,950.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,829.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total value of $935,454.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,842 shares in the company, valued at $7,549,113.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,559.09, for a total transaction of $935,454.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,549,113.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,766.24, for a total transaction of $1,766,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,124,170.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,600 shares of company stock worth $6,209,022. 13.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,780.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,647.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,527.61. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $1,181.71 and a one year high of $1,810.03.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $52.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $44.27 by $8.65. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 18.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 188.62 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 3.64%.

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.