First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) Cut to “Neutral” at Piper Sandler

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) was downgraded by Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $1,950.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price target of $1,850.00. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.14% from the company’s previous close.

FCNCA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,650.00 price target (up previously from $1,600.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,644.00 to $1,754.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1,850.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,800.00 target price on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Citizens BancShares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,829.90.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCNCA opened at $1,754.50 on Friday. First Citizens BancShares has a 1-year low of $945.32 and a 1-year high of $1,810.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,582.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,480.23.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The bank reported $46.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $48.49 by ($1.91). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 15.75%. Research analysts anticipate that First Citizens BancShares will post 179.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Citizens BancShares

In related news, insider Hope Holding Bryant purchased 300 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, for a total transaction of $394,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,601,070. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. bought 622 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, for a total transaction of $817,930.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 97,609 shares in the company, valued at $128,355,835. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hope Holding Bryant purchased 300 shares of First Citizens BancShares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,315.00 per share, with a total value of $394,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,601,070. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 1,388 shares of company stock valued at $1,825,220 in the last quarter. 13.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in First Citizens BancShares in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 20 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of First Citizens BancShares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 53.3% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 23 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in First Citizens BancShares during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.