First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,199 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of First BanCorp. worth $1,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,193,684 shares of the bank’s stock worth $194,630,000 after buying an additional 347,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,879,000 after purchasing an additional 112,432 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,169,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,751,000 after purchasing an additional 16,432 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.9% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 676,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,327,000 after buying an additional 19,290 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 484,978 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,016,000 after purchasing an additional 10,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total transaction of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 1.3 %

First BanCorp. stock opened at $19.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $16.24 and a 12 month high of $22.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.21.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on FBP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First BanCorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. 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.