Diversified Trust Co Acquires 4,605 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 60.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,649,000 after purchasing an additional 297,144 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Bancorp by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,166,000 after buying an additional 136,002 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in First Bancorp by 18.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 802,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,615,000 after buying an additional 124,992 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 28.2% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 423,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,612,000 after acquiring an additional 93,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 220.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 71,977 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $40.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.86. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34.

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

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.48%.

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.