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

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBMS) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,030,933 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 27,548 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in First Bancshares were worth $36,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $12,619,000 after purchasing an additional 279,812 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $352,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in First Bancshares by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,518 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of First Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancshares stock opened at $33.75 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.92. 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 First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $22.96 and a one year high of $39.21.

First Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

About First Bancshares

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.