Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Invests $279,000 in First BanCorp. $FBP

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d'investissement inc. acquired 13,376 shares of First BanCorp. during the 2nd quarter, valued at approximately $279,000.
• CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares for about $1.1 million, reducing his ownership by 4.51%.
• First BanCorp. has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.18 to $0.23 per share, representing a 4.1% annual yield.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,376 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First BanCorp. by 103.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 328.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,950 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,262 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 191.2% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,354 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 19.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,340 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the first quarter worth approximately $96,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

NYSE:FBP traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $21.99. 91,478 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,166,796. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.55 and a 200 day moving average of $20.28. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $16.40 and a twelve month high of $22.60.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $246.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.73 million. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.71% and a return on equity of 17.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from First BanCorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. First BanCorp.'s payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Transactions at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total value of $1,115,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,059,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,627,898.10. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.00.

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.