Brown Advisory Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Key Points

• Brown Advisory Inc. cut its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,059 shares and leaving it with 93,619 shares valued at about $200.9 million.
• First Citizens reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $44.86 per share versus analysts’ estimate of $43.31, though revenue came in slightly below expectations at $2.14 billion.
• Management and analysts remain active on the stock: CEO Frank B. Holding Jr. bought 528 shares in June, while recent analyst moves were mixed and the consensus rating remains “Hold” with a $2,215.91 price target.

Brown Advisory Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,619 shares of the bank's stock after selling 6,059 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.75% of First Citizens BancShares worth $200,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FCNCA. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 15 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 40.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.7% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 28 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 24 shares of the bank's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company's stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $2,108.61 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,988.48 and a 200 day moving average of $2,008.21. The company has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.62. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,623.76 and a 1-year high of $2,232.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $43.31 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 15.62%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $37.79 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 177.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's payout ratio is presently 4.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 528 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,813.37 per share, for a total transaction of $957,459.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $116,237,017. This represents a 0.83% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 7,288 shares of company stock valued at $12,725,768. Insiders own 14.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on FCNCA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,375.00 to $2,300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,200.00 to $2,150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered First Citizens BancShares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2,154.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2,215.91.

First Citizens BancShares Company 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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