JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 26,349 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 475,014 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 26,349 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.52% of First Bancshares worth $15,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $56,256,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 1,454.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,912,000 after purchasing an additional 579,851 shares during the period. Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,249,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the second quarter worth approximately $4,548,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Bancshares by 7.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,487,000 after buying an additional 91,314 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FBMS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "sell" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBMS traded down $1.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 144,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 121,308. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.96 and a twelve month high of $39.08. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.94.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.25%.

About First Bancshares

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.