First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 4,012.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 56,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 55,613 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.14% of First Bancorp worth $2,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in First Bancorp by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 124,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,476,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Bancorp by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 7,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of First Bancorp stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $40.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 161,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 187,128. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.52 and a 200 day moving average of $42.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.86.

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

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This is a boost from First Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.71%.

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.