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 Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.64, for a total value of $82,920.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 213,085 shares in the company, valued at $5,889,669.40. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FMAO opened at $27.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $382.82 million, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.90 and its 200 day moving average is $26.27. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.59 and a fifty-two week high of $29.83.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%.The business had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.54 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $921,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Hovde Group lowered 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. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.