Insider Selling: First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director J Randolph Potter sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,001 shares in the company, valued at $127,482.48. The trade was a 62.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

First Bancorp Price Performance

First Bancorp stock opened at $43.58 on Friday. First Bancorp has a 1 year low of $29.53 and a 1 year high of $50.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.05. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.05.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. First Bancorp had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 8.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Bancorp will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,784,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,649,000 after purchasing an additional 297,144 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Bancorp in the third quarter worth $562,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Bancorp by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 976,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,628,000 after acquiring an additional 12,922 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 220.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after acquiring an additional 71,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in First Bancorp by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,887,000 after purchasing an additional 31,953 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Bancorp from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

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.