SOL Capital Management CO Makes New $1.24 Million Investment in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Key Points

• SOL Capital Management initiated a new position in First Citizens BancShares, buying 698 shares worth about $1.24 million in the first quarter. The stock now makes up roughly 0.5% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Insider buying remains significant, with CEO Frank B. Holding Jr. purchasing 528 shares for about $957,459. Insiders have bought 7,190 shares worth $12.57 million over the past 90 days.
• First Citizens BancShares reported strong quarterly earnings of $44.86 per share, topping analyst estimates, though revenue came in slightly below expectations. The stock was also down 1.8% in Friday trading and currently carries a consensus analyst rating of Hold.

SOL Capital Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 698 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,243,000. First Citizens BancShares comprises about 0.5% of SOL Capital Management CO's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 15 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 24 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 528 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,813.37 per share, with a total value of $957,459.36. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders acquired 7,190 shares of company stock valued at $12,573,868 in the last ninety days. 14.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Fundamental Research set a $2,350.00 price objective on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of 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. Autonomous Res cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,150.00 to $2,350.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2,243.75.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ FCNCA opened at $2,082.99 on Friday. 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $2,019.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,022.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.62.

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 analyst estimates 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 company earned $37.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 175.42 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors 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 yield of 0.4%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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