Amundi Buys 55,379 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Amundi grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 173.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,309 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,379 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $194,630,000 after buying an additional 347,271 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,792,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,779,000 after acquiring an additional 189,148 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the third quarter worth about $2,607,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. This represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:FBP opened at $18.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.00. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.25 and a 52 week high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.