William Blair Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in First Bancorp $FBNC

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 43.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 379,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 285,879 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $19,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FBNC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 6.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 43,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $318,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth $4,046,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in First Bancorp by 6.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 258,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,383,000 after purchasing an additional 15,570 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In other news, Director Michael Goodwin Mayer sold 44,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.58, for a total value of $2,596,499.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,430,542.78. The trade was a 51.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Piper Sandler cut First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $64.00 in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research raised First Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings raised First Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.25.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FBNC opened at $58.65 on Tuesday. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $40.00 and a fifty-two week high of $62.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.25 and a 200-day moving average of $55.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 20.59%.The company had revenue of $122.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.21 million. As a group, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Company Profile

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.