William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 18,749 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 797,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,749 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.93% of First Bancorp worth $35,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. one8zero8 LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 4,851 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,434,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $895,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FBNC opened at $40.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.49. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. On average, analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

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.