Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 20.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 297,144 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $77,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in First Bancorp by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,104,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,166,000 after buying an additional 136,002 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,628,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 18.4% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 802,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,615,000 after purchasing an additional 124,992 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in First Bancorp by 0.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,979,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Bancorp by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 493,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,539,000 after purchasing an additional 14,737 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBNC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FBNC stock opened at $47.94 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.11 and its 200 day moving average is $40.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 1.04. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First Bancorp

In other First Bancorp news, Director Suzanne S. Deferie sold 17,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.96, for a total value of $780,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 67,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,974,069.84. This trade represents a 20.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.