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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.99, for a total value of $83,970.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 198,550 shares in the company, valued at $5,557,414.50. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FMAO opened at $28.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $392.80 million, a PE ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.41. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.77 and a 1-year high of $29.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FMAO. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% in the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 485,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,991,000 after purchasing an additional 457,500 shares during the last quarter. Align Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,844,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,765,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,319,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 186.8% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 33,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FMAO has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their target price on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.50.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

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.