Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,787,224 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 130,949 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in First BanCorp. were worth $37,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 57,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in First BanCorp. by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,852 shares of the bank’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in First BanCorp. during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. FCG Investment Co lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 4.8% in the second quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 30,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of First BanCorp. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 160,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Nayda Rivera sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $529,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 236,490 shares in the company, valued at $5,011,223.10. This trade represents a 9.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First BanCorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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 shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.40.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of First BanCorp. stock opened at $20.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.56 and a 200 day moving average of $19.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. First BanCorp. has a 12 month low of $15.15 and a 12 month high of $22.40.

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

First BanCorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. First BanCorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.36%.

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.