11,000 Shares in First Bancorp $FBNC Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,849,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,722,000 after buying an additional 11,439 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,012,273 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,661,000 after acquiring an additional 169,363 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,516,000 after acquiring an additional 429,769 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 726,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,892,000 after acquiring an additional 123,283 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Bancorp by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 289,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,679,000 after acquiring an additional 27,849 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Trading Up 2.8%

FBNC opened at $66.23 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. First Bancorp has a one year low of $45.04 and a one year high of $66.54.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $122.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.20 million. Analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael Goodwin Mayer sold 44,324 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.58, for a total value of $2,596,499.92. Following the sale, the director owned 41,491 shares in the company, 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 at this link. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FBNC. Weiss Ratings raised First Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Brean Capital initiated coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.75 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.55.

About First Bancorp

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.