Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New $420,000 Investment in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 22,668 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 34,616 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,792,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 367,445 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,779,000 after purchasing an additional 189,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank's stock worth $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $529,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $214,160.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares in the company, valued at $3,656,606.50. This trade represents a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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First BanCorp. Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of FBP traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.39. The stock had a trading volume of 713,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,759. First BanCorp. has a 1-year low of $16.24 and a 1-year high of $22.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $19.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.21. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 18.89%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group reduced their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.