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

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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FMAO traded up $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 55,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,439. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.37. The company has a market capitalization of $396.03 million, a PE ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $29.83.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 18.54% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $32.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.54 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FMAO. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% during the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 485,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,991,000 after buying an additional 457,500 shares during the period. Align Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $6,844,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $1,765,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $1,319,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 186.8% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 33,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FMAO shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.