First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

FCNCA has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group set a $2,325.00 target price on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $2,238.27.

First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,884.66 on Monday. First Citizens BancShares has a one year low of $1,473.62 and a one year high of $2,232.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,968.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,941.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. acquired 134 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,550.00 per share, with a total value of $207,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,749 shares in the company, valued at $4,260,950. This trade represents a 5.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 258 shares of company stock valued at $404,236. Company insiders own 13.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Citizens BancShares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCNCA. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 374 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $804,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter worth about $371,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in First Citizens BancShares by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. AG Campbell Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in First Citizens BancShares in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,168,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.01% of the company’s stock.

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.