First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Sells $212,400.00 in Stock

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director J Randolph Potter sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,482.48. This represents a 62.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

FBNC opened at $43.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $29.53 and a 12-month high of $50.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 1.05.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Bancorp will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBNC. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in First Bancorp by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,649,000 after buying an additional 297,144 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 979.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 247,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,875,000 after acquiring an additional 224,419 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 28.2% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 423,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,612,000 after purchasing an additional 93,072 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Bancorp by 220.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after purchasing an additional 71,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in First Bancorp by 142.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 79,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 46,930 shares in the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Bancorp Company 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.