Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,487 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of First Bancorp worth $1,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $185,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Novare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 6.2% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.7 %

FBNC opened at $41.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.00 and a 12-month high of $45.41.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $143.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 20.17% and a return on equity of 8.39%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 2,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.77, for a total transaction of $89,115.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,618 shares in the company, valued at $2,872,099.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total transaction of $780,290.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 67,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,586 shares of company stock worth $1,859,154 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FBNC. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

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.