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 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.94, for a total value of $104,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 60,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,115,617. The trade was a 4.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $35.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.24. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $35.94. The company has a market capitalization of $486.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $34.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.62%.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,241,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 682,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,072,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 301,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402 shares in the last quarter. Align Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $6,844,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 5.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 226,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FMAO. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. 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 for the company in a 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

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.