The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,944 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,624 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of First Bancshares worth $1,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in First Bancshares by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 475,014 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,262,000 after acquiring an additional 26,349 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 971,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,206,000 after purchasing an additional 28,215 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $1,054,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in First Bancshares by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 86,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,787,000 after purchasing an additional 28,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in First Bancshares by 1,454.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,912,000 after buying an additional 579,851 shares during the period. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancshares Trading Down 0.1 %

FBMS opened at $34.56 on Thursday. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.96 and a 12-month high of $39.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.83.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBMS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on First Bancshares in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company.

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.