Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $83,970.00 in Stock

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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FMAO traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.76. 55,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,439. 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 has a market capitalization of $396.03 million, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.82. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $29.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.37.

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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 35.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $921,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013 shares during the period. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on FMAO. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler restated 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.