Insider Selling: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells 3,000 Shares of Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.70, for a total value of $86,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 192,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,526,185. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 0.8%

FMAO traded up $0.22 on Wednesday, hitting $28.76. The company had a trading volume of 55,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,439. The company has a market cap of $396.03 million, a PE ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 0.82. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $29.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.37.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released 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. The company had revenue of $32.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%. Equities research analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. 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 FMAO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013 shares during the period. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $152,000. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on FMAO. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group decreased 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 research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.