Insider Buying: First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) CEO Purchases 134 Shares of Stock

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) CEO Frank Holding, Jr. purchased 134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,550.00 per share, for a total transaction of $207,700.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,950. This represents a 5.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

First Citizens BancShares Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of FCNCA stock traded up $22.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,788.28. The company had a trading volume of 82,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,473.62 and a 1-year high of $2,232.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2,040.13 and a 200 day moving average of $1,951.78. The firm has a market cap of $21.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.68.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $51.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.24 by $7.03. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 15.21% and a return on equity of 11.18%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current year.

First Citizens BancShares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is currently 5.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Citizens BancShares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the period. Steph & Co. bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 78.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,300.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,600.00 to $2,500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,456.00 to $2,346.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,238.27.

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.