Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 303,770 shares of the bank's stock after selling 15,230 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.19% of First BanCorp. worth $5,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,097 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,216,000 after purchasing an additional 37,432 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 89,341 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 34,616 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,792,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in First BanCorp. during the fourth quarter worth $420,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in First BanCorp. by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,797 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 21,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP stock traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.31. The stock had a trading volume of 703,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,154,690. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $22.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.87.

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First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 39.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total transaction of $951,203.69. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,874,498.11. This trade represents a 19.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.