51,374 Shares in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. $FMAO Bought by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 51,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Align Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $6,844,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,765,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 186.8% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 33,916 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $616,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 37,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 15,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on FMAO. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Hovde Group decreased their target price 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, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In other news, Director Andrew J. Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.76, for a total transaction of $104,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 75,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,626,118. The trade was a 3.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,825 shares of company stock valued at $2,401,542. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FMAO opened at $34.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.86. The company has a market cap of $470.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.80. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $35.94.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.19. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.27%.The company had revenue of $34.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.62%.

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.