Schroder Investment Management Group Purchases 163,026 Shares of First Bancorp $FBNC

Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 576,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 163,026 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 1.39% of First Bancorp worth $30,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $393,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 161,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,553,000 after purchasing an additional 20,520 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in First Bancorp by 159.0% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 95,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after purchasing an additional 58,339 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 4,309.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 7,541 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,056,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Wall Street Zen raised First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Zacks Research raised First Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.25.

Insider Activity at First Bancorp

In other news, insider Mary Clara Capel sold 5,000 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.31, for a total value of $296,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,924. The trade was a 19.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 10,142 shares of company stock valued at $592,276 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.65% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $54.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $34.50 and a 1 year high of $62.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.83.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 19.24%.The company had revenue of $83.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.43 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.33%.

First Bancorp 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.