Some First Bancorp (NASDAQ:FBNC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Director, Michael Mayer, recently sold a substantial US$2.6m worth of stock at a price of US$58.58 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 51%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At First Bancorp

Notably, that recent sale by Michael Mayer is the biggest insider sale of First Bancorp shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$58.65, 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 51% of Michael Mayer's holding.

In total, First Bancorp insiders sold more 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insider Ownership

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. It appears that First Bancorp insiders own 2.1% of the company, worth about US$50m. 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?

An insider sold First Bancorp shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since First Bancorp is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.

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.