Vanguard Group Inc. Has $301.86 Million Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,426,327 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 419,356 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.00% of First BanCorp. worth $301,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FBP. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 8.7% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,679,620 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $179,477,000 after buying an additional 1,097,862 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 worth $165,408,000 after purchasing an additional 505,003 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,497,173 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,735,000 after purchasing an additional 54,223 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 12.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,410,008 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,899,000 after buying an additional 383,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 0.6% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,798,621 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,199,000 after buying an additional 17,274 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other First BanCorp. news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,126,325 shares in the company, valued at $19,339,000.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,126,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,339,000.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $256,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 246,930 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP stock opened at $17.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $10.18 and a 52 week high of $17.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.44.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.14. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 26.19%. The business had revenue of $299.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

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.