Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $94,770.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.59, for a total value of $94,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 90,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,860,474.50. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

FMAO stock opened at $33.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.66. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $35.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $459.37 million, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.81.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $34.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.27%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 72.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in 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 worth $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 in the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FMAO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.