First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 194,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,444 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $8,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $185,000. Novare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth $216,000. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $45.32 on Wednesday. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $48.21. The company has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.21.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were 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 owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,974,069.84. This trade represents a 20.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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.