William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases 18,749 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 797,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,749 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.93% of First Bancorp worth $35,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in First Bancorp by 20.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,649,000 after buying an additional 297,144 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in First Bancorp by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 507,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,306,000 after buying an additional 13,450 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $562,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Bancorp by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,628,000 after buying an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in First Bancorp by 220.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,351,000 after buying an additional 71,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of FBNC stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.52. 529,788 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,541. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $42.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02 and a beta of 1.04. First Bancorp has a 12 month low of $29.53 and a 12 month high of $50.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.83%.

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.