Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Jennison Associates LLC lowered its holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 446,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,910 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 1.08% of First Bancorp worth $19,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in First Bancorp by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FBNC. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Bancorp Price Performance

FBNC opened at $45.50 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.27. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $29.53 and a twelve month high of $50.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73 and a beta of 1.04.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. Equities analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

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.