Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. Trims Position in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Key Points

• Bronte Capital Management trimmed its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 17.2% in Q4, selling 3,548 shares and leaving it with 17,072 shares worth about $36.64 million, making the stock its 10th-largest holding (~4% of the fund).
• Analysts carry a consensus Hold rating with a $2,202.08 target after mixed results (Q earnings per share $44.86 beat estimates); the company has a market cap of roughly $23.9 billion and institutional ownership of about 78%.
• Insiders remain active—CEO Frank B. Holding Jr. bought 134 shares (bringing his total to 2,749) and insiders own ~14.63%—and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.10 (annualized $8.40, yield ~0.4%, ex-dividend May 29).

Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,072 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,548 shares during the period. First Citizens BancShares comprises about 4.0% of Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. owned about 0.14% of First Citizens BancShares worth $36,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 23.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 16,938 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,305,000 after acquiring an additional 3,215 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 484.7% during the third quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 577.7% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 759 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 122.2% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,440 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the third quarter worth about $415,000. Institutional investors own 78.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,375.00 to $2,300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler set a $2,050.00 price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,346.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,050.00 to $2,150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2,202.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 134 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,550.00 per share, for a total transaction of $207,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,260,950. The trade was a 5.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 258 shares of company stock valued at $404,236 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 14.63% of the company's stock.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 2.4%

First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $2,002.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,926.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,969.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.63. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,623.76 and a 12-month high of $2,232.21.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. The business had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 11.37%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $37.79 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 176.04 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, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.83%.

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.

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