State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 18,666 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,406 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,666 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.19% of First Bancshares worth $1,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBMS. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancshares by 3,387.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the first quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancshares in the first quarter worth $202,000. 69.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.00 to $32.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of First Bancshares from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set a "sell" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.50.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.5 %

FBMS traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $36.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 79,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,118. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day moving average is $33.24 and its 200-day moving average is $29.85. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.96 and a 1 year high of $38.21.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.25%.

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.