Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 389 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Cannell & Spears LLC trimmed its holdings in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,275 shares of the bank's stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC owned about 0.05% of First Citizens BancShares worth $15,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,426,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in First Citizens BancShares by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 392,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $828,510,000 after purchasing an additional 103,137 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at $147,341,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter valued at about $99,818,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in First Citizens BancShares by 128.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 54,831 shares of the bank's stock worth $115,859,000 after buying an additional 30,828 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on First Citizens BancShares from $2,550.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,535.00 to $2,200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $2,500.00 to $2,600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered First Citizens BancShares from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $2,288.08.

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First Citizens BancShares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCNCA traded down $124.63 on Friday, reaching $1,507.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 75,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,639. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,991.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,051.38. 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 company has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.66. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,470.15 and a 52-week high of $2,412.93.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $45.10 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. First Citizens BancShares's dividend payout ratio is presently 4.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Citizens BancShares news, CFO Craig L. Nix bought 17 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,881.13 per share, for a total transaction of $31,979.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,141 shares in the company, valued at $2,146,369.33. This trade represents a 1.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 13.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.