Insider Selling: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $91,410.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.47, for a total transaction of $91,410.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 111,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,398,928.50. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FMAO opened at $33.34 on Friday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $35.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.62. 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 (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $34.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 20.27%. Sell-side analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FMAO. Align Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $6,844,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,765,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,319,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 186.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $616,000. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FMAO. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on 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. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” 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.