First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of First Bancorp worth $3,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,275,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $659,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,539,000 after acquiring an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FBNC. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $41.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 1.04. 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 has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 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%. On average, research analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.83%.

About First Bancorp

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.