First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 507,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,450 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.23% of First Bancorp worth $22,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 20.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,649,000 after acquiring an additional 297,144 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,628,000 after acquiring an additional 12,922 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in First Bancorp by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 423,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,612,000 after buying an additional 93,072 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in First Bancorp by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 367,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,150,000 after buying an additional 39,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its position in First Bancorp by 979.3% in the 4th quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 247,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,875,000 after buying an additional 224,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

First Bancorp Price Performance

First Bancorp stock opened at $40.36 on Wednesday. First Bancorp has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.49. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released 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%. As a group, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 47.83%.

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.