Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 51,375 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 888,665 shares of the bank's stock after selling 51,375 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.53% of First BanCorp. worth $18,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,414,701 shares of the bank's stock valued at $393,154,000 after buying an additional 448,845 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,619,842 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,627,000 after purchasing an additional 301,443 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,719,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 9.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 676,817 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,871,000 after buying an additional 60,844 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 657,459 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,025,000 after purchasing an additional 25,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $41,815.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,881,608.76. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,556 shares of company stock valued at $736,365 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock remained flat at $20.93 during midday trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 828,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,040,279. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $14.72 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $20.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.11.

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

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 35.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on FBP. Hovde Group cut their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First BanCorp. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.40.

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.