The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Purchased by State Street Corp

State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 971,246 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 28,215 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.11% of First Bancshares worth $31,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 4.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,503 shares of the bank's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 50.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the bank's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in First Bancshares by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the bank's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Bancshares by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,262 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.95% of the company's stock.

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FBMS stock traded up $0.61 on Friday, hitting $34.54. 759,240 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 186,349. The company's fifty day moving average is $35.51 and its 200 day moving average is $31.73. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $39.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FBMS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Sunday, December 15th. They issued a "sell" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.17.

First Bancshares Profile

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.