Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 77,074 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 77,074 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.55% of First Bancorp worth $100,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 124,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,476,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,566,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

First Bancorp Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of FBNC opened at $40.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.89. 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 has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $50.34. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.79.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. On average, analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on FBNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock.

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.

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