First BanCorp. $FBP Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,088,807 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 453,111 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $156,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FBP. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 42,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,419 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 96,368 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 328.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,262 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 6.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 516,986 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,911,000 after purchasing an additional 29,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 1,445.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 430,329 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,249,000 after acquiring an additional 402,488 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on FBP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First BanCorp. in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of First BanCorp. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 34,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.11, for a total value of $754,437.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,537.07. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Roberto R. Herencia sold 4,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.63, for a total transaction of $106,881.49. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 637,019 shares in the company, valued at $14,415,739.97. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First BanCorp. Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of NYSE:FBP opened at $21.11 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.30. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.40 and a 52 week high of $23.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.87.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $257.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $256.18 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 27.48% and a return on equity of 17.33%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 37.21%.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp (NYSE: FBP) is a financial holding company headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through its principal banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, the company offers a comprehensive range of banking services including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, cash management solutions and treasury services. It also provides mortgage origination and servicing, equipment leasing, investment management, and insurance agency services.

In its commercial banking segment, First BanCorp serves small and midsize enterprises as well as large corporate clients, delivering tailored credit facilities, letters of credit, and foreign trade financing.