Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs Sells 3,000 Shares

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total transaction of $86,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 192,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,526,185. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of FMAO stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.76. 55,551 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,439. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.09 and a 200 day moving average of $26.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $29.83. The company has a market cap of $396.03 million, a PE ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 18.54% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. Research analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 485,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,991,000 after purchasing an additional 457,500 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FMAO. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) is the bank holding company for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California, a community-focused institution headquartered in Los Banos, California. The bank traces its roots to 1916 and has grown to serve individuals, businesses and agricultural enterprises throughout the western San Joaquin Valley. Operating with a commitment to local decision-making, the company emphasizes personalized service and close ties to the communities in which it operates.

Through its banking subsidiary, Farmers & Merchants offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, online and mobile banking platforms, and merchant services.