Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 311,470 Shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,225,464 shares of the bank's stock after selling 311,470 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.71% of First BanCorp. worth $20,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in First BanCorp. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 56,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 17,010 shares of the bank's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in First BanCorp. by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,511 shares of the bank's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in First BanCorp. by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 24,085 shares of the bank's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its position in First BanCorp. by 206.3% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 4,900 shares of the bank's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on FBP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First BanCorp. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of First BanCorp. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $824,405.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Aurelio Aleman sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.17, for a total transaction of $858,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,126,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,339,000.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Crespo Luz sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.47, for a total value of $164,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,055 shares in the company, valued at $824,405.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 150,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,624,000 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

First BanCorp. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FBP traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 408,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,792. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.26. First BanCorp. has a 1 year low of $10.56 and a 1 year high of $18.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $302.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $229.19 million. First BanCorp. had a return on equity of 21.58% and a net margin of 25.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First BanCorp. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. First BanCorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.57%.

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.