Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $895,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Bancorp by 20.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,649,000 after acquiring an additional 297,144 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new position in First Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $562,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,628,000 after buying an additional 12,922 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 220.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,351,000 after buying an additional 71,977 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in First Bancorp by 85.3% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,887,000 after buying an additional 31,953 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NASDAQ:FBNC traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $40.32. 139,472 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,561. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.01 and a 200-day moving average of $43.61. First Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $29.53 and a fifty-two week high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several research firms recently weighed in on FBNC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

View Our Latest Report on 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.

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