Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $104,580.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.86, for a total value of $104,580.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 87,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,051,993. This trade represents a 3.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.33. The stock had a trading volume of 89,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,979. The company has a market cap of $458.95 million, a PE ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.81. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $35.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.62. 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 (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $34.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 10.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is 31.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $380,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter worth $210,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 19,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% during the second 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 during the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FMAO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings raised Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.25.

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.