MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $1.06 Million Stock Holdings in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Bancorp by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,293,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,862,000 after acquiring an additional 77,074 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 39,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 82,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 486,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,403,000 after purchasing an additional 63,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Bancorp by 807.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Stock Performance

FBNC opened at $41.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.73. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $29.53 and a 1 year high of $50.34.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. First Bancorp had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 8.04%. The business had revenue of $105.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $105.81 million. Research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on First Bancorp from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $51.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

First Bancorp 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.