Insider Selling: Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEBK) Director James S. Abernethy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.12, for a total value of $14,060.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 72,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,046,461.12. This trade represents a 0.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Trading Down 4.7 %

PEBK stock traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.41. 4,993 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,748. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.74 and a 52-week high of $33.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.15 and its 200-day moving average is $28.41. The company has a market cap of $149.55 million, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The bank reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 12.85%.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PEBK. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 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 valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,649 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.83% of the company’s stock.

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 Friday, March 21st.

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.