Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 456,983 shares of the bank's stock after selling 15,377 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.28% of First BanCorp. worth $8,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in First BanCorp. by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,580 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First BanCorp. by 394.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,800 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 3,032 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised First BanCorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FBP stock traded down $0.25 on Thursday, reaching $19.31. The stock had a trading volume of 329,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,076,617. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.40 and a 1 year high of $22.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.57.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 18.89%. Equities research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Company Profile

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.