BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 18,874 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 63.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,860 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,874 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in First Bancshares were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First Bancshares by 7.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,491 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,487,000 after purchasing an additional 91,314 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in First Bancshares by 4.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 898,647 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,874,000 after purchasing an additional 37,167 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in First Bancshares by 1,454.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 619,730 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,912,000 after purchasing an additional 579,851 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First Bancshares by 65.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 231,635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 91,269 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in First Bancshares by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 190,928 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,960,000 after purchasing an additional 16,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.95% of the company’s stock.

First Bancshares Stock Down 0.3 %

FBMS stock opened at $36.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.96 and a 12 month high of $39.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.36.

First Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBMS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Bancshares in a research report on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Bancshares from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.17.

First Bancshares Profile

The First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The First Bank that provides general commercial and retail banking services. The company operates through three segments: Commercial/Retail Bank, Mortgage Banking Division, and Holding Company. It offers deposit services, including checking, NOW, and savings accounts; other time deposits, such as daily money market accounts and longer-term certificates of deposit; and individual retirement and health savings accounts.