First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Position Boosted by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,155 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned 0.20% of First Bancorp worth $3,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in First Bancorp by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Bancorp in the second quarter worth $360,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 665.5% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in First Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in First Bancorp by 3,504.0% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,539 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $36.12 on Monday. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.00 and a 12-month high of $38.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.76.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $97.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.63 million. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.06% and a return on equity of 7.97%. Equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 34.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

First Bancorp Profile

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.