First Bancorp $FBNC Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in First Bancorp by 2.3%, owning 433,872 shares worth approximately $17.4 million after selling 10,051 shares.
• First Bancorp recently reported earnings of $0.93 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 1.3%.
• Analysts have provided mixed ratings on First Bancorp, with target prices ranging from $51.00 to $62.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Northern Trust Corp trimmed its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 433,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,051 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.05% of First Bancorp worth $17,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $128,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $243,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,715 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $546,000. Finally, one8zero8 LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 27.1% during the first quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 14,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of First Bancorp stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $55.55. 133,569 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 216,080. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $34.50 and a 52-week high of $55.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.96 and a 200-day moving average of $43.72.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.96% and a net margin of 17.65%.The firm had revenue of $111.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.22 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. First Bancorp's payout ratio is 39.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FBNC. Stephens upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Bancorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.67.

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.