Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 585,338 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 372.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 742,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 585,338 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.80% of First Bancorp worth $32,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in First Bancorp by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,864,000 after purchasing an additional 418,752 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 979.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 247,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,875,000 after buying an additional 224,419 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,862,000 after buying an additional 77,074 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 220.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,351,000 after buying an additional 71,977 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 486,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,403,000 after buying an additional 63,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $42.53 on Wednesday. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $39.47 and a 200-day moving average of $42.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.85.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.81 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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 shares of First Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.33.

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.

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