Insider Selling: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director Sells $14,575.00 in Stock

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James S. Abernethy sold 500 shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.15, for a total value of $14,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 39,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,148,510. This represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Price Performance

Shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina stock opened at $30.88 on Friday. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.74 and a twelve month high of $33.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.57 million, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.75.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a return on equity of 12.85% and a net margin of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $20.47 million for the quarter.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. This is a boost from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 34.1% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 15.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards.