National Bank of Canada FI Sells 1,703 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,373 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,703 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.06% of First BanCorp. worth $1,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FBP. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,288,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,408,000 after purchasing an additional 505,003 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,084,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,053,000 after buying an additional 52,384 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 3.1% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,721,109 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,166,000 after buying an additional 51,078 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 6.2% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,143,989 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,398,000 after buying an additional 66,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 32.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,034,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,918,000 after acquiring an additional 250,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, CFO Gonzalez Orlando Berges sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $1,344,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 277,020 shares in the company, valued at $4,964,198.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 15,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.12, for a total value of $256,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 246,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gonzalez Orlando Berges sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $1,344,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 277,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,198.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 150,000 shares of company stock worth $2,624,000 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $18.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.76. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $10.75 and a 1 year high of $18.32. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.34.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.06. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 25.82%. The business had revenue of $302.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

First BanCorp. 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.