State Street Corp Boosts Stock Position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 3.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,215 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in First Bancshares were worth $31,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancshares by 1,454.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,912,000 after buying an additional 579,851 shares during the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $8,249,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,548,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Bancshares by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,487,000 after purchasing an additional 91,314 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in First Bancshares by 65.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 91,269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FBMS shares. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Sunday, December 15th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $34.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.67. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $39.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.93.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

First Bancshares Company Profile

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.