Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc., a financial services company, has acquired a new stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS) during the third quarter, according to the company's recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [9c750797]. The fund purchased 2,729 shares of FirstCash stock, valued at approximately $274,000. This acquisition by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. adds to the list of institutional investors and hedge funds that have recently bought and sold shares of FirstCash [9c750797].
Other institutional investors and hedge funds that have made changes to their positions in FCFS include Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC, MML Investors Services LLC, Covestor Ltd, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp, and JPMorgan Chase & Co [3ad472c3]. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in FirstCash by 3.1% in the first quarter, owning 4,051 shares of the company's stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares. MML Investors Services LLC also increased its position in FirstCash by 6.5% in the first quarter, owning 2,602 shares worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares. Covestor Ltd grew its position in FirstCash by 25.4% in the second quarter, owning 848 shares worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in FirstCash by 86.5% in the third quarter, owning 442 shares worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in FirstCash by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, owning 76,832 shares worth $6,677,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares [3ad472c3]. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 77.28% of the company's stock [3ad472c3].
FirstCash Holdings, Inc. operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers [3ad472c3]. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.04 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share. Wall Street analysts have raised their target price on FCFS [9c750797].
Quadrature Capital Ltd, an institutional investor, has increased its stake in FirstService Co. by 30.1% during the third quarter, purchasing an additional 54,000 shares. The investor now owns a total of 233,700 shares of FirstService, representing about 0.52% of the company's stock. Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FirstService. The stock is currently rated as a 'Moderate Buy' by analysts, with an average price target of $177.29. FirstService's stock is currently trading at $165.28. The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.23 to $0.25 per share [a5f73e66] [9a787c49].
First Farmers Financial Corp., the holding company for First Farmers Bank & Trust Co., has declared a record quarterly cash dividend of $0.48 per share, marking a 4.3% increase from the previous year's dividend. The dividend is payable on April 15, 2024, to shareholders on record as of March 29, 2024. This announcement comes as the latest in a series of shareholder returns by the Converse, Indiana-based financial holding company, which reported a dividend of $0.46 per share in March 2023. First Farmers Financial Corp. oversees a portfolio that amounts to approximately $3.0 billion and operates a network of offices across multiple counties in Indiana and Illinois. The company's shares are traded on the OTC Markets Group's OTCQX exchange. The increase in the dividend reflects the company's financial growth and commitment to providing value to its shareholders. Dividend increases can attract income-focused investors and potentially influence the stock's performance on the market. [ecd629b4]
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:) has announced a 4.8% increase in its quarterly cash dividend. The dividend, set at $0.22 per share, is payable on April 20, 2024, to shareholders of record as of March 29, 2024. F&M Bank, the parent company of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, is a community bank that operates in Ohio, Northeast Indiana, and Oakland County, Michigan. The bank offers a range of financial services, including commercial and retail banking. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp reported total assets of $3.28 billion as of December 31, 2023. The company has included a Safe Harbor statement in its announcement, indicating that forward-looking statements made by the company are subject to risks and uncertainties. [948058bf].
First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a 'sell' rating to a 'hold' rating. The upgrade comes after other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. TheStreet cut shares of First Bancshares from a 'b-' rating to a 'c+' rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of First Bancshares from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a 'market perform' rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. First Bancshares has an average rating of 'Hold' and a consensus target price of $31.00. First Bancshares stock opened at $23.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.68 and a 200-day moving average of $25.73. First Bancshares has a 1-year low of $22.96 and a 1-year high of $32.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $743.64 million, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.92. First Bancshares last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.05. First Bancshares had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The company had revenue of $104.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Bancshares will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBMS. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in First Bancshares by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,966 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of First Bancshares by 652.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,474 shares of the bank's stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 6,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ELCO Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. 69.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.