First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 446,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 43,910 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 1.08% of First Bancorp worth $19,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the third quarter worth $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of First Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday.

First Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 234,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,439. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.33. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.