First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Stock Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,756 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,364 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.16% of First Bancorp worth $2,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 124,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,476,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 0.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

FBNC traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.80. 11,930 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,807. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 0.85. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.67. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.