Bank of New York Mellon Corp Buys 39,362 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 367,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,362 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.89% of First Bancorp worth $16,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 22.3% in the fourth 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 period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $205,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $38.72 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.60. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $50.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

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.