First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) CEO Sells $1,115,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• First BanCorp. CEO Aurelio Aleman sold $1,115,000 worth of stock, reducing his ownership by 4.51% to approximately 1,059,547 shares.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%.
• Wells Fargo raised their target price for First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $25.00, with analysts maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.30, for a total value of $1,115,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,059,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,627,898.10. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

First BanCorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.23. The stock had a trading volume of 968,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,346. First BanCorp. has a 12-month low of $16.40 and a 12-month high of $22.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.04.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 24.71%.The firm had revenue of $246.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.73 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First BanCorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of First BanCorp. in the 2nd quarter worth $217,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 624,659 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,012,000 after acquiring an additional 31,072 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 265.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 40,003 shares of the bank's stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 29,050 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 173.6% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 19,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in shares of First BanCorp. by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 99,632 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,075,000 after acquiring an additional 24,549 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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