Insider Selling: First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Sells $2,596,499.92 in Stock

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Michael Goodwin Mayer sold 44,324 shares of First Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.58, for a total value of $2,596,499.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 41,491 shares in the company, valued at $2,430,542.78. The trade was a 51.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of First Bancorp stock opened at $58.65 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $62.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 20.59%.The company had revenue of $122.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.21 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Bancorp will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FBNC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Bancorp from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded First Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler cut First Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 176.4% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 429,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,220,000 after acquiring an additional 274,289 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 214,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,111,000 after acquiring an additional 29,251 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 6,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 41,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Bancorp

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.