Bessemer Group Inc. Has $72,000 Holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 95.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 39 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 762 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 54.5% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 17 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the first quarter worth $44,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 263.6% during the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 40 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 78.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on FCNCA. Wall Street Zen cut First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cowen assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Piper Sandler raised First Citizens BancShares from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $2,250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on First Citizens BancShares from $2,568.00 to $2,400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $2,050.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,323.67.

Insider Activity at First Citizens BancShares

In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. purchased 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,610.00 per share, for a total transaction of $563,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,380. This trade represents a 14.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

Shares of First Citizens BancShares stock opened at $2,094.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,870.04 and its 200-day moving average is $1,940.63. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a one year low of $1,473.62 and a one year high of $2,412.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $37.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $37.72 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 17.10%. Equities analysts predict that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 167.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. First Citizens BancShares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.47%.

About First Citizens BancShares

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.