Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Lowers Stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. $FCNCA

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada cut its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 89.2% in the first quarter, ending with 316 shares valued at about $609,000.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 78.01%, and several other investors increased their positions while analysts mostly rate the stock Hold with a consensus price target of $2,247.08.
• First Citizens reported better-than-expected earnings of $44.86 per share in the latest quarter, and CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. also bought shares as the company maintained a quarterly dividend of $2.10 per share.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 89.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,597 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hiddenite Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,868,000. Check Capital Management Inc. CA grew its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA now owns 42,788 shares of the bank's stock worth $91,831,000 after buying an additional 7,424 shares during the last quarter. Barr E S & Co. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Barr E S & Co. now owns 5,995 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 122.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in First Citizens BancShares by 181.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. 78.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on FCNCA shares. Fundamental Research set a $2,350.00 price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded First Citizens BancShares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,100.00 to $2,340.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on 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, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2,247.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 528 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,813.37 per share, for a total transaction of $957,459.36. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 64,100 shares in the company, valued at $116,237,017. This trade represents a 0.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 7,190 shares of company stock worth $12,573,868. Insiders own 14.63% of the company's stock.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $2,092.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,623.76 and a 12-month high of $2,232.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $2,025.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2,022.74.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $44.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $43.31 by $1.55. The business 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $37.79 earnings per share. Analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 177 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 4.83%.

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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