Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $81,600.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $81,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 252,085 shares in the company, valued at $6,856,712. The trade was a 1.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $26.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $364.08 million, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.82. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.92.

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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on FMAO shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.50.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 485,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,991,000 after acquiring an additional 457,500 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $559,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Hicks Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $363,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 15,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 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.