First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Shares Purchased by State Street Corp

State Street Corp raised its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 347,271 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 0.06% of First BanCorp. worth $194,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,169,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,751,000 after buying an additional 16,432 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 134.5% during the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 25,417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 14,577 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. during the third quarter worth about $315,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the third quarter worth about $257,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 63.3% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 34,616 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $19.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.12. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $15.15 and a 12 month high of $22.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $234.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $238.51 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is 35.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First BanCorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

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.