Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 27,548 Shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,030,933 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 27,548 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 3.30% of First Bancshares worth $36,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in First Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $56,256,000. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P increased its position in First Bancshares by 346.5% during the 4th quarter. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P now owns 360,555 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,619,000 after purchasing an additional 279,812 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,296,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in First Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,543,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 967,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,847,000 after buying an additional 68,396 shares during the last quarter. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Bancshares in a research note on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

First Bancshares Stock Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FBMS opened at $33.75 on Friday. The First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $39.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.08.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. First Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 40.98%.

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.