New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,860 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,229 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,221,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,679,620 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,477,000 after buying an additional 1,097,862 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. in the 1st quarter worth $10,473,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 389.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 904,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,864,000 after acquiring an additional 719,644 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,643,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $323,327,000 after acquiring an additional 544,469 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,708,007.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at $1,708,007.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784 over the last 90 days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $16.29 on Thursday. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $10.18 and a twelve month high of $17.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.16.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $299.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.75 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 26.19%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.65%.

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.