Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 1,253 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Shell Asset Management Co. lowered its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Rating) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,253 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $5,833,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in First Bancorp by 35.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 481,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,793,000 after purchasing an additional 126,148 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in First Bancorp by 12.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,122,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,054,000 after purchasing an additional 120,100 shares during the last quarter. JCSD Capital LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 175.8% in the fourth quarter. JCSD Capital LLC now owns 183,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,877,000 after acquiring an additional 117,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.2% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,252,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,129,000 after acquiring an additional 114,081 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Bancorp news, Director Carlie C. Mclamb, Jr. purchased 655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.18 per share, with a total value of $26,972.90. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,648.52. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FBNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Bancorp from $44.00 to $39.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Raymond James reduced their price target on First Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

First Bancorp Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of FBNC opened at $28.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. First Bancorp has a one year low of $26.25 and a one year high of $49.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.38.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.86%.

First Bancorp Profile

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First Bancorp (North Carolina) operates as a bank holding company, which engages in banking activities, with the acceptance of deposits and the making of loans. It provides a range of deposit products such as checking, savings, NOW, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including various types of certificates of deposits and individual retirement accounts.