Diversified Trust Co Buys 4,605 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 60.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in First Bancorp by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

FBNC stock opened at $40.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.86. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 1.05. First Bancorp has a one year low of $29.53 and a one year high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The company had revenue of $144.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.00 million. On average, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, January 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 35.48%.

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.