State Street Corp Sells 3,283 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

State Street Corp decreased its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,709,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,283 shares during the period. State Street Corp’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $71,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 69,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,221,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 1.5% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 2.7% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 174,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,560,000 after purchasing an additional 4,609 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $3,568,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $47.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.32.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. The company had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 35.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. This trade represents a 20.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Company 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.