Mary Clara Capel Sells 1,015 Shares of First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Stock

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

First Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FBNC opened at $31.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.70. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $26.00 and a twelve month high of $38.51.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $92.17 million during 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, research analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in First Bancorp by 4.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 0.4% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,828,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,038,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in First Bancorp by 1.2% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 33,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Bancorp by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,799,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,122,000 after buying an additional 10,414 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in First Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $943,000. 68.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded First Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note 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.