First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA Shares Sold by Maltese Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Maltese Capital Management cut its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,106 shares and leaving it with 4,409 shares valued at about $9.46 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: JPMorgan trimmed its price target to $2,150, while the broader consensus is a Hold with an average target of $2,215.91.
• The bank reported Q1 earnings of $44.86 per share, beating estimates, and recently paid a $2.10 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of about 0.4%.

Maltese Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,409 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,106 shares during the quarter. First Citizens BancShares accounts for approximately 1.7% of Maltese Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Maltese Capital Management LLC's holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $9,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted 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 during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted 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 during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on FCNCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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 cut First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $2,050.00 price target on First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2,215.91.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 528 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owned 64,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $116,237,017. This represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 7,286 shares of company stock valued at $12,722,668 in the last three months. 14.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of FCNCA stock opened at $2,068.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,991.72 and a 200 day moving average of $2,010.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.62. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,623.76 and a twelve month high of $2,232.21.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the business earned $37.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 177.84 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 4.83%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FCNCA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.