Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 168.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,555 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of First Bancorp worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,649,000 after buying an additional 297,144 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 507,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,306,000 after acquiring an additional 13,450 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $562,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,628,000 after acquiring an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 220.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 71,977 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $40.52 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.83%.

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.