Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 23,594 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,097 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,216,000 after acquiring an additional 37,432 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $4,792,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $420,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,779,000 after buying an additional 189,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after buying an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 186,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,874,498.11. This trade represents a 19.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of FBP opened at $16.97 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $16.25 and a twelve month high of $22.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90.

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

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.78%.

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.