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

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.81, for a total transaction of $83,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 201,550 shares in the company, valued at $5,605,105.50. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FMAO traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $28.09. 121,714 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,190. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.90 and its 200-day moving average is $26.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.74 million, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $29.83.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $32.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.25%.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $380,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 401 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,013 shares in the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FMAO shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Hovde Group lowered 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 research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.50.

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.