Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $1.65 Million Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,990 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,860 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of First BanCorp. worth $1,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navellier & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 30,954 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 6,035 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 926,097 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,216,000 after purchasing an additional 37,432 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in First BanCorp. by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 102,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 484,978 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,016,000 after purchasing an additional 10,591 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on FBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First BanCorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.40.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In related news, EVP Carlos Power sold 10,321 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.75, for a total value of $214,160.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 176,222 shares in the company, valued at $3,656,606.50. The trade was a 5.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 1.3 %

FBP stock opened at $19.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. First BanCorp. has a fifty-two week low of $16.24 and a fifty-two week high of $22.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.14.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from First BanCorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. First BanCorp.’s payout ratio is currently 39.78%.

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.