Swiss National Bank Raises Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Rating) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 86,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $3,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 83,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,504,000 after acquiring an additional 9,446 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 59.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 11,400 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 52,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 13.2% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,287,000 after buying an additional 3,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. 69.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FBNC. StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Bancorp from $44.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 6th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $30.18 on Monday. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.25 and a 12-month high of $49.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 1.08.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 30th. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

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

First Bancorp Company 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.