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 company’s 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 sale, the director owned 192,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,526,185. This trade 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 Stock Performance

FMAO opened at $28.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $390.52 million, a PE ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.20 and a 200-day moving average of $26.43. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.77 and a 52-week high of $29.83. 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 results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $32.54 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 35.25%.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% during 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 period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FMAO. Hovde Group decreased their price target on 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. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus 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.