Some First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Independent Director, Suzanne DeFerie, recently sold a substantial US$869k worth of stock at a price of US$43.94 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 23% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

First Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Mason Garrett, for US$2.3m worth of shares, at about US$43.41 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$41.41. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 662.00 shares for US$20k. On the other hand they divested 75.32k shares, for US$3.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in First Bancorp than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. First Bancorp insiders own about US$63m worth of shares. That equates to 3.6% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The First Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

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. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with First Bancorp and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

But note: First Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.