Northern Trust Corp Purchases 28,686 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 443,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,686 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.07% of First Bancorp worth $19,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 294.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 14,896 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in First Bancorp by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 18,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $802,000 after purchasing an additional 7,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in First Bancorp by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens boosted 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 reduced their price objective on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.33.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $42.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $39.47 and a 200-day moving average of $42.69. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The business had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $105.81 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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