Don't Ignore The Fact That This Insider Just Sold Some Shares In First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC)

Anyone interested in First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) should probably be aware that the CEO & Director, Richard Moore, recently divested US$300k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$37.53 each. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 6.6%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

Check out our latest analysis for First Bancorp

First Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Director, Suzanne DeFerie, for US$1.0m worth of shares, at about US$34.11 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$37.19, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 25% of Suzanne DeFerie's stake.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 15.08k shares worth US$361k. But insiders sold 50.34k shares worth US$1.7m. In total, First Bancorp insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership of First Bancorp

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 2.3% of First Bancorp shares, worth about US$25m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At First Bancorp Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought First Bancorp stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for First Bancorp (1 is concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.

Of course First Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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