First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Michael Goodwin Mayer Sells 44,324 Shares

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) Director Michael Goodwin Mayer sold 44,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 41,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,430,542.78. This trade represents a 51.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

First Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of FBNC stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $58.77. The company had a trading volume of 93,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,881. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. First Bancorp has a twelve month low of $40.00 and a twelve month high of $62.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.49.

First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $122.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.21 million. First Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 20.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Bancorp will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Bancorp by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 13,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in First Bancorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Martin & Co. Inc. TN increased its position in First Bancorp by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 64,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,428,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in First Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 22,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.