State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,161 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 58,245 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,161 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in First Bancshares were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC increased its position in First Bancshares by 73.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the third quarter worth approximately $308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com began coverage on First Bancshares in a research report on Monday, February 17th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.75.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $36.06 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.64. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.96 and a fifty-two week high of $39.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.98%.

About First Bancshares

The First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The First Bank that provides general commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through three segments: Commercial/Retail Bank, Mortgage Banking Division, and Holding Company. It offers deposit services, including checking, NOW, and savings accounts; other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit; and individual retirement and health savings accounts.