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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.44, for a total transaction of $79,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 240,085 shares in the company, valued at $6,347,847.40. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 1.4%

FMAO opened at $27.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.01. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.59 and a 1-year high of $29.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.82.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $32.44 million for 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%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were issued 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 3.3%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.25%.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 682,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,072,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 457,500 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Align Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,844,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 5.8% in the 1st 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 and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FMAO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday. Hovde Group cut their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.