State Street Corp Acquires 347,271 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

State Street Corp increased its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,193,684 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 347,271 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 5.61% of First BanCorp. worth $194,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,619,842 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,627,000 after buying an additional 301,443 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 55.8% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 656,855 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,014,000 after purchasing an additional 235,156 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 135.7% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 192,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,065,000 after buying an additional 110,531 shares in the last quarter. X Square Capital LLC boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 351,170 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,423,000 after buying an additional 109,340 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in First BanCorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FBP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.60.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $19.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 600,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,030,716. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $15.15 and a 12-month high of $22.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $20.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.12.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 19.91% and a net margin of 24.94%. The firm had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $238.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is presently 35.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. The trade was a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.