Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 3,860 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,990 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,860 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $1,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FBP. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in First BanCorp. during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 5,054.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,701 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in First BanCorp. in the third quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,464 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First BanCorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.40.

First BanCorp. Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:FBP opened at $19.50 on Friday. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $16.24 and a 1 year high of $22.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share (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 firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.69%. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 176,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,656,606.50. This represents a 5.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First BanCorp. Company 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.