Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,225,464 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 311,470 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $20,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 56,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 615,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,133,000 after purchasing an additional 65,635 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter valued at about $113,000. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in First BanCorp. by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 40,623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 3,914 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First BanCorp. news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,126,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,339,000.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,126,325 shares in the company, valued at $19,339,000.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 150,000 shares of company stock worth $2,624,000 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

First BanCorp. stock opened at $18.06 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $10.56 and a fifty-two week high of $18.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.77.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $302.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 25.82% and a return on equity of 21.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Analysts predict that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.57%.

About First BanCorp.

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.