Insider Selling: First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) EVP Sells 10,321 Shares of Stock

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares in the company, valued at $3,656,606.50. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Carlos Power also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 5th, Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of First BanCorp. stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of First BanCorp. stock traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, reaching $20.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 640,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,328. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.24. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $16.12 and a 52 week high of $22.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last released 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is 35.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First BanCorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 63.3% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 34,616 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,792,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,779,000 after acquiring an additional 189,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank's stock valued at $92,879,000 after acquiring an additional 112,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the third quarter worth about $529,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FBP shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Hovde Group dropped their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.40.

About First BanCorp.

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.