First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Rating) Director Dexter V. Perry acquired 973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.78 per share, with a total value of $33,840.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,485 shares in the company, valued at $121,208.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

First Bancorp stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.79. The stock had a trading volume of 4,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,314. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.51. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $33.87 and a twelve month high of $50.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 1.17.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $96.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.00 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 29.04% and a return on equity of 10.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 29th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.08%.

FBNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of First Bancorp from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 23rd.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 14.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 106,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,561,000 after acquiring an additional 12,996 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 230,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,524,000 after purchasing an additional 35,548 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 4.6% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 21,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $883,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.57% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Company Profile (Get Rating)

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 primarily in North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina. It accepts deposit products, such as checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as time deposits, including certificate of deposits and individual retirement accounts.

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