Virtu Financial LLC Invests $462,000 in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,196 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in First Bancshares by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank's stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBMS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Saturday. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock.

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First Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FBMS traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.74. 180,304 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,076. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.06 and a 200-day moving average of $35.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $39.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.92.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. First Bancshares's payout ratio is 40.98%.

First Bancshares Profile

The First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The First Bank that provides general commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through three segments: Commercial/Retail Bank, Mortgage Banking Division, and Holding Company. It offers deposit services, including checking, NOW, and savings accounts; other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit; and individual retirement and health savings accounts.