Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Rating) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.06% of First Bancorp worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 28,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $44.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carlie C. Mclamb, Jr. bought 655 shares of the business’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 purchase, the director now owns 20,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $840,648.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $31.06 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.25 and a twelve month high of $49.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.08.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

About First Bancorp

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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.