Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $943,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 84,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after buying an additional 6,628 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 165.2% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 21,749 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 33,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,204,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 6.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,166,000 after buying an additional 136,002 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Up 11.8 %

First Bancorp stock opened at $47.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $28.96 and a 1 year high of $48.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.21 and its 200-day moving average is $37.29. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 1.02.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. The business had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.00 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total value of $89,115.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FBNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

First Bancorp Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides banking products and services for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. The company accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.