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 Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $79,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 246,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,626.10. This trade represents a 1.20% 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 Performance

FMAO stock opened at $27.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.96. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.59 and a 1-year high of $29.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $374.96 million, a PE ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.82.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%.The firm had revenue of $32.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FMAO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $28.50 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMAO. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $380,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $210,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 19,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

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.