Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Buys 24,528 Shares of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA) by 770.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,713 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,528 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in First Citizens BancShares were worth $45,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 615 shares of the bank’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 191 shares of the bank’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 15,328 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,750,000 after buying an additional 3,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Citizens BancShares by 145.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,406 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCNCA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,900.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of First Citizens BancShares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $2,100.00 price target (up from $1,900.00) on shares of First Citizens BancShares in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of First Citizens BancShares from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of First Citizens BancShares from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $1,850.00 to $1,950.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,857.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Citizens BancShares

In other First Citizens BancShares news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,766.24, for a total transaction of $1,766,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,124,170.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,750.12, for a total value of $847,058.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 335 shares in the company, valued at $586,290.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ellen R. Alemany sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,766.24, for a total transaction of $1,766,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,124,170.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,000 shares of company stock worth $5,273,568. 13.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Citizens BancShares Stock Performance

First Citizens BancShares stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,832.79. 85,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 68,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. First Citizens BancShares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,274.91 and a fifty-two week high of $1,856.30. The company has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,716.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,608.02.

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $52.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.27 by $8.65. First Citizens BancShares had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Citizens BancShares, Inc. will post 191.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Citizens BancShares Company 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.