Tufton Capital Management Invests $242,000 in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO)

Tufton Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 9,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 9.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group initiated coverage on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 5th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:FMAO traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $20.08. 2,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,988. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $20.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.29 million, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.61. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.90 and a 1 year high of $27.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.09. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 14.62%. The business had revenue of $23.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.90 million. Analysts predict that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.69%.

Insider Activity at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In other news, Director Jo Ellen Hornish acquired 3,594 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.56 per share, for a total transaction of $73,892.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $822,400. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Farmers & Merchants State Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and small businesses in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and custodial services for individual retirement and health savings accounts.