Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Buys 18,312 Shares of First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC – Get Rating) by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 74,842 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,312 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in First Republic Bank were worth $9,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of First Republic Bank by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,026 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of First Republic Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $612,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of First Republic Bank by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Republic Bank by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,456,873 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,153,959,000 after purchasing an additional 373,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its position in shares of First Republic Bank by 129.4% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 116,738 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,922,000 after purchasing an additional 65,859 shares in the last quarter. 95.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FRC. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating on shares of First Republic Bank in a research report on Friday. Atlantic Securities lowered shares of First Republic Bank from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Republic Bank in a research report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of First Republic Bank from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of First Republic Bank from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.90.

First Republic Bank Price Performance

FRC stock opened at $23.03 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.15. First Republic Bank has a 52-week low of $17.53 and a 52-week high of $174.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93.

First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 13th. The bank reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. First Republic Bank had a net margin of 24.66% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Republic Bank will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

First Republic Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 26th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 25th. First Republic Bank’s payout ratio is currently 13.09%.

About First Republic Bank

(Get Rating)

First Republic Bank engages in the provision of private banking, business banking, real estate lending, and wealth management, including trust and custody services. It operates through the Commercial Banking and Wealth Management segments. The Commercial Banking segment represents most of the operations, including real estate secured lending, retail deposit gathering, private banking activities, mortgage sales and servicing, and managing capital, liquidity, and interest rate risk.