Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $439,000 in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 23,594 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in First BanCorp. during the 3rd quarter worth $66,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in First BanCorp. by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,464 shares of the bank's stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares in the company, valued at $3,656,606.50. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

View Our Latest Report on FBP

First BanCorp. Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $16.97 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $19.20 and its 200 day moving average is $19.75. First BanCorp. has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $22.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

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

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.

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