Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 418,752 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,202,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 418,752 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 5.33% of First Bancorp worth $96,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 828,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,423,000 after buying an additional 9,140 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,581,000 after purchasing an additional 45,052 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 17,230 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $344,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 152,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,706,000 after buying an additional 10,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 for the company.

First Bancorp Price Performance

First Bancorp stock opened at $40.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 0.89. 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 price of $41.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.04% and a net margin of 14.19%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.