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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.94, for a total transaction of $104,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,115,617. This trade represents a 4.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ FMAO opened at $35.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $483.88 million, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.80. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $35.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $34.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 31.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMAO. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 72.2% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in 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 valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in 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 worth $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

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FMAO shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.25.

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.