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 dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.64, for a total transaction of $82,920.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 213,085 shares in the company, valued at $5,889,669.40. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.26. 31,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 51,903. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.59 and a twelve month high of $29.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.54 million. Research analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 682,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,072,000 after buying an additional 4,979 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% in the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 485,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,991,000 after buying an additional 457,500 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 301,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,448,000 after buying an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Align Financial LLC purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,844,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 5.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 226,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,825,000 after buying an additional 12,356 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FMAO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.