Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 6,050 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Cannell & Spears LLC decreased its stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,027 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,050 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $26,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 3rd quarter valued at $700,000. Community Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 129.2% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 55 shares of the bank’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 146.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter valued at about $7,187,000. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FCNCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,300.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on First Citizens BancShares from $2,600.00 to $2,500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,238.27.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,768.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.68. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,473.62 and a 12 month high of $2,232.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2,048.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,954.01.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.24 by $7.03. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 11.18%. The company had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 5.07%.

First Citizens BancShares Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc is the bank holding company for First Citizens Bank, a full‑service commercial bank headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company traces its roots to a community bank founded in 1898 and has grown into a diversified financial services organization that operates through its banking subsidiary to serve retail, commercial and institutional clients.

First Citizens offers a broad suite of banking products and services, including consumer and business deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate and mortgage lending, treasury and cash management, and specialized lending solutions.