Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Holdings in First Community Bancshares, Inc. $FCBC

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in First Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,765 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.07% of First Community Bancshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of First Community Bancshares by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 35,959 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its position in First Community Bancshares by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 19,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in First Community Bancshares by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in First Community Bancshares by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,265 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Community Bancshares by 78.0% in the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Community Bancshares

In other news, SVP Sarah W. Harmon sold 4,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.21, for a total transaction of $213,030.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $400,618.61. This trade represents a 34.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Gary R. Mills sold 3,500 shares of First Community Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.67, for a total value of $166,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 5,798 shares in the company, valued at $276,390.66. The trade was a 37.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Community Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Community Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of First Community Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

First Community Bancshares Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FCBC opened at $48.16 on Wednesday. First Community Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.21 and a twelve month high of $50.17. The company has a market capitalization of $910.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.96.

First Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. First Community Bancshares had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 10.67%. The company had revenue of $81.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.20 million. As a group, research analysts predict that First Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

First Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from First Community Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. First Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.64%.

First Community Bancshares Company Profile

First Community Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: FCBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Mebane, North Carolina, that delivers banking and financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Community Bank. The company’s core focus is on relationship-driven community banking, offering clients a blend of personalized service and competitive digital banking capabilities. It serves a diverse clientele that includes individuals, families, small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and professional practices.

The bank provides a broad spectrum of deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, alongside treasury management and payment processing solutions.