Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $79,980.00 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 Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $79,980.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 246,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,560,626.10. This represents a 1.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

FMAO opened at $27.56 on Thursday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.59 and a 12-month high of $29.83. 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 $379.50 million, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.01.

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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $380,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $210,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 19,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

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.