William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $35.17 Million Stock Holdings in First Bancorp $FBNC

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 665,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,326 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.60% of First Bancorp worth $35,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in First Bancorp by 6.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 43,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $318,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in First Bancorp by 5.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,046,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 258,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,383,000 after purchasing an additional 15,570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FBNC shares. Raymond James Financial raised First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler lowered shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In related news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total value of $296,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,924. The trade was a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 10,142 shares of company stock valued at $592,276 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Down 5.6%

FBNC opened at $56.79 on Monday. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $34.50 and a fifty-two week high of $62.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.62.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.41%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.82%.

First Bancorp Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.