Insider Selling: First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Sells $30,500.75 in Stock

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Mary Clara Capel sold 1,015 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.05, for a total transaction of $30,500.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,648.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

First Bancorp Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $31.92 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.02. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.00 and a twelve month high of $38.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $92.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.12 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 20.58%. As a group, analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. First Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.77%.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FBNC. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Bancorp by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 33,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 35,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in First Bancorp by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 16,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

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.