Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $14.09 Million Position in First Bancorp $FBNC

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 24th, 2026

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Free Report) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 250,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,451 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Bancorp were worth $14,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FBNC. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 726,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,892,000 after buying an additional 123,283 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in First Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $1,037,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in First Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $560,000. Finally, CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $990,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Brean Capital began coverage on First Bancorp in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $65.75 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of First Bancorp from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.55.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on FBNC

First Bancorp Stock Performance

First Bancorp stock opened at $63.27 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $45.04 and a 1-year high of $66.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.42 and a 200-day moving average of $58.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 0.80.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 22.12%.The firm had revenue of $127.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.07 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 29.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael Goodwin Mayer sold 44,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.58, for a total value of $2,596,499.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,542.78. This represents a 51.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Bancorp Profile

(Free Report)

First Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for First Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services. Its core offerings include business lending, treasury and cash management, residential and commercial mortgage financing, and consumer deposit products. Through its subsidiary, First Bank provides online and branch-based banking solutions, including checking and savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and digital banking tools designed to meet the needs of individuals, small- to mid-sized businesses, and professional institutions.

The company maintains a network of full-service banking centers and loan production offices across North Carolina and South Carolina, with a focus on markets in the Piedmont, Sandhills and coastal regions.