The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. $FMAO

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 289,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,843,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,765,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,319,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 11.5% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $33,241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Farmers & Merchants Bancorp news, EVP David R. Gerken sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.72, for a total transaction of $33,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,483.48. This trade represents a 13.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrew J. Briggs sold 2,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $84,190.10. Following the sale, the director owned 49,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,722,637.40. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 85,227 shares of company stock valued at $2,636,752. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on FMAO. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 1.0%

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $34.25 on Friday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $35.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.78.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 10.72%. Research analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 31.62%.

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.