First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

• BI Asset Management cut its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 92.3% in the first quarter, leaving it with 405 shares valued at about $763,000.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $44.86 per share versus the $43.31 consensus estimate, even though revenue came in slightly below expectations.
• CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 528 shares in June, while analysts remain cautious overall with a Hold consensus and an average price target of $2,215.91.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 92.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 405 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,855 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 117,518.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 205,833 shares of the bank's stock valued at $441,755,000 after purchasing an additional 205,658 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at about $116,565,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 574.0% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 55,402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,903,000 after buying an additional 47,182 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 2,057.4% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 47,506 shares of the bank's stock valued at $92,944,000 after buying an additional 45,304 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 13,512.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 38,524 shares of the bank's stock valued at $82,679,000 after buying an additional 38,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 528 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,813.37 per share, for a total transaction of $957,459.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $116,237,017. This trade represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 7,190 shares of company stock valued at $12,573,868 over the last quarter. Insiders own 14.63% of the company's stock.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $2,117.29 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $2,010.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2,019.63. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,623.76 and a 52-week high of $2,232.21. The firm has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.62% and a return on equity of 11.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $37.79 EPS. Equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 175.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's payout ratio is currently 4.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded First Citizens BancShares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2,154.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,200.00 to $2,150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2,215.91.

About First Citizens BancShares

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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