Insider Selling: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director Sells $40,213.50 in Stock

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director Robert Abernethy, Jr. sold 950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.33, for a total value of $40,213.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,766 shares in the company, valued at $2,487,564.78. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Stock Performance

PEBK traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.05. The stock had a trading volume of 24,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,799. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.47. The firm has a market cap of $235.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.29. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a one year low of $27.33 and a one year high of $45.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $23.11 million for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 17.25%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the 2nd quarter worth $17,249,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 167,283 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,551,000 after acquiring an additional 7,404 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 154,533 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,594,000 after purchasing an additional 78,921 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,442 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,962,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Finally, Maltese Capital Management LLC grew its position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 49,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. 43.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Peoples Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and municipal clients in the western region of North Carolina.

Through its community banking network, Peoples Bancorp offers deposit products such as checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside consumer and commercial lending solutions.