Insider Selling: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $86,100.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $86,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 189,550 shares in the company, valued at $5,440,085. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of FMAO stock opened at $28.80 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.45. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.77 and a twelve month high of $29.83. The company has a market capitalization of $396.58 million, a P/E ratio of 11.03 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 announced 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. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%.The company had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.54 million. Equities analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were paid 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 Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $921,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 4,013 shares in the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on FMAO shares. Hovde Group lowered 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 note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.