Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 158 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Emerald Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 16 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Craig L. Nix bought 17 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,881.13 per share, for a total transaction of $31,979.21. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,146,369.33. This represents a 1.51 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 13.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,700.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup downgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $2,600.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $2,250.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Citizens BancShares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,288.08.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,851.20 on Monday. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,518.00 and a 52-week high of $2,412.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2,052.67 and a 200 day moving average of $2,055.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.81.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $39.32 by $5.78. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 13.22% and a net margin of 18.55%. On average, research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. First Citizens BancShares’s payout ratio is 4.12%.

First Citizens BancShares Profile

First Citizens BancShares, Inc operates as the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and professionals. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and time deposit accounts.