Ameriprise Financial Inc. Decreases Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 751,059 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 69,822 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.46% of First BanCorp. worth $13,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,462,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,981,000 after buying an additional 63,304 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in First BanCorp. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,724,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,001,000 after acquiring an additional 78,129 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in First BanCorp. by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,871,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,558,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460,789 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First BanCorp. by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,462,862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,981,000 after acquiring an additional 76,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in First BanCorp. by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,685,588 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,926,000 after acquiring an additional 248,335 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on First BanCorp. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.80.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP stock opened at $20.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.93. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.40 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $248.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.08 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 24.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.13%.

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.