Rock Point Advisors LLC Sells 126,295 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Rock Point Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 316,711 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 126,295 shares during the period. First BanCorp. makes up approximately 1.8% of Rock Point Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Rock Point Advisors LLC’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $6,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FBP. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,414,701 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $393,154,000 after acquiring an additional 448,845 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 22.9% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,619,842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,627,000 after acquiring an additional 301,443 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in First BanCorp. by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 656,855 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,014,000 after acquiring an additional 235,156 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 135.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 192,012 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,065,000 after purchasing an additional 110,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, X Square Capital LLC lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 351,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,423,000 after buying an additional 109,340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $529,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 236,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,011,223.10. This represents a 9.56 % 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. Also, EVP Michael Mcdonald sold 1,944 shares of First BanCorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $41,815.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,881,608.76. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First BanCorp. Trading Down 0.3 %

First BanCorp. stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.53. 52,639 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,038,090. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. First BanCorp. has a 52 week low of $14.72 and a 52 week high of $22.40.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.94% and a return on equity of 19.91%. The company had revenue of $234.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $238.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First BanCorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

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.