Keeley Teton Advisors LLC Sells 17,256 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Keeley Teton Advisors LLC decreased its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 111,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,256 shares during the period. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $4,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in First Bancorp by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 82,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,631,000 after buying an additional 2,689 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 486,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,403,000 after acquiring an additional 63,311 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 807.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in First Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,434,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in First Bancorp by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 113,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,985,000 after purchasing an additional 6,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens began coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of FBNC opened at $36.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.89. First Bancorp has a 52-week low of $29.53 and a 52-week high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly 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 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. Analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 47.83%.

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.