Arizona State Retirement System Has $820,000 Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,842 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,349 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,084,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,053,000 after buying an additional 52,384 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,034,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,918,000 after buying an additional 250,577 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,288,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $165,408,000 after buying an additional 505,003 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 100,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 36,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 208,646 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 26,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at $1,708,007.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total transaction of $164,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 57,600 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.34, for a total value of $998,784.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,501 shares in the company, valued at $1,708,007.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,600 shares of company stock worth $2,278,784. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First BanCorp. from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

FBP stock opened at $16.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.81. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.18 and a fifty-two week high of $17.70.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $299.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.75 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.62% and a net margin of 26.19%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.65%.

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.