Raymond James & Associates Sells 328 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in First Bancorp were worth $2,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in First Bancorp by 53.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 8,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 11,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 15,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Bancorp Price Performance

FBNC stock opened at $31.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.44 and its 200-day moving average is $33.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $26.00 and a 1 year high of $38.51.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.06% and a return on equity of 7.97%. The business had revenue of $97.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.63 million. Equities research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.78%.

First Bancorp 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.