First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,277 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.39% of First Bancorp worth $7,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 807.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens increased their target price on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.33.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $41.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.84 and its 200-day moving average is $42.63. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 0.85.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.