Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 17,849 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,849 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.85% of First Bancorp worth $14,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 372.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 742,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,654,000 after purchasing an additional 585,338 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,864,000 after buying an additional 418,752 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in First Bancorp by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $100,862,000 after buying an additional 77,074 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,206,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 486,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,403,000 after acquiring an additional 63,311 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.4%

FBNC traded down $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $47.35. The company had a trading volume of 85,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,304. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.13 and a 200-day moving average of $41.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $34.50 and a 1-year high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a net margin of 16.08% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The company had revenue of $105.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. As a group, analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FBNC. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.33.

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.