BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,838 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in First Bancorp were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the third quarter worth $384,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in First Bancorp in the third quarter worth $659,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $303,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,275,000. 68.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In other news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,974,069.84. The trade was a 20.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $47.56 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $29.53 and a 1 year high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $144.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.00 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. On average, analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

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.