Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,275,000. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of First Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in First Bancorp by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,799,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $101,122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,414 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 33,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in First Bancorp by 131.4% in the 2nd quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 76,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,456,000 after acquiring an additional 43,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, 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 Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,249. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.76. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.53 and a 1-year high of $50.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.02.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 17.98%. The company had revenue of $144.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Bancorp

In related news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 67,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,974,069.84. This trade represents a 20.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.