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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.64, for a total transaction of $82,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 213,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,889,669.40. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

FMAO stock traded down $0.80 on Wednesday, hitting $27.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,903. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.21. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.59 and a 1 year high of $29.83. The stock has a market cap of $375.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $32.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.54 million. Equities analysts predict that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,319,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,765,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 10,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FMAO. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group cut 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.