Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lowered its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,829 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $1,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 53.1% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $360,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 665.5% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in First Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 3,504.0% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $32.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.07. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $26.00 and a 52-week high of $38.51.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.63 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.06% and a return on equity of 7.97%. On average, research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.78%.

About First Bancorp

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.