First Bancorp, the parent company of First Bank, declared a quarterly cash dividend of 18 cents per share on its common stock, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

The dividend is payable on Oct. 23 to all shareholders of record as of Sept. 30.

The dividend amount is the same amount paid in the previous quarter and is a 50 percent increase from the dividend amount from the same quarter q year ago.

First Bancorp has approximately $6.9 million in total assets. First Bank operates 101 branches in North Carolina and South Carolina.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNC) was trading at $21.04 on Wednesday, up 14 cents.