Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $86,400.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total value of $86,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 183,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,286,240. This represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FMAO stock opened at $28.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.07 million, a P/E ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.82. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $29.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.52 and its 200 day moving average is $26.58.

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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $223,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 37.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 10,279 shares during the period. 23.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FMAO. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.