American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,978 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.37% of First Bancorp worth $6,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens initiated coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp Stock Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ FBNC traded up $1.49 on Tuesday, reaching $37.74. 28,179 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 176,819. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $29.53 and a 12 month high of $50.34. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.