Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 9,140 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,140 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.00% of First Bancorp worth $36,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,581,000 after purchasing an additional 45,052 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in First Bancorp by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after buying an additional 17,230 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $344,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 152,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,706,000 after buying an additional 10,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 168.4% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 15,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $36.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 0.89. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $41.65 and its 200 day moving average is $43.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FBNC. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens began coverage on First Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock.

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.