First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Insider Mary Clara Capel Sells 2,642 Shares

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) insider Mary Clara Capel sold 2,642 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.75, for a total value of $152,575.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,466,850. This represents a 9.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Mary Clara Capel also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, January 28th, Mary Clara Capel sold 2,500 shares of First Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.26, for a total transaction of $143,150.00.

First Bancorp Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ:FBNC traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.56. 143,695 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 293,357. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. First Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.50 and a 12-month high of $62.31.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.16. First Bancorp had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The business had revenue of $83.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.43 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

First Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from First Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. First Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 34.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FBNC shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Raymond James Financial raised First Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 48.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,314,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,516,000 after purchasing an additional 429,769 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $17,999,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 236.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 233,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,336,000 after buying an additional 163,906 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Bancorp by 149.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 261,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,813,000 after buying an additional 156,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 32.1% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 587,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,884,000 after buying an additional 142,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

First Bancorp Company Profile

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.