First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 113,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,351 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.27% of First Bancorp worth $4,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FBNC. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in First Bancorp by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $205,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.96. 23,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,119. The company's 50 day moving average price is $39.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.89. 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 current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $105.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday.

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.