Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs Sells 3,000 Shares

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total transaction of $86,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 183,550 shares in the company, valued at $5,286,240. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,389. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $29.83. The company has a market capitalization of $393.08 million, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.54. 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 Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 18.54% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 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, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 457,500 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 10,279 shares during the period. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FMAO. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Hovde Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

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.