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To get a sense of who is truly in control of The First Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNLC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 45% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 42% of the company’s stockholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of First Bancorp.
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it’s included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
First Bancorp already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It’s therefore worth looking at First Bancorp’s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
NasdaqGS:FNLC Earnings and Revenue Growth June 25th 2025
Hedge funds don’t have many shares in First Bancorp. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 7.8% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.8% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.5% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Tony McKim is the owner of 1.2% of the company’s shares.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock’s expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn’t any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in The First Bancorp, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$14m worth of the US$278m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 45% stake in First Bancorp. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.8%, of the company’s shares. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand First Bancorp better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we’ve discovered 1 warning sign for First Bancorp that you should be aware of before investing here.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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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.
