101,402 Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. $FMAO Shares Sold by Goelzer Investment Management Inc.

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 122,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 101,402 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp were worth $4,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 126.0% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 25.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH bought a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the third quarter worth $208,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $249,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $230,000. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In other Farmers & Merchants Bancorp news, EVP David R. Gerken sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.72, for a total transaction of $33,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,509 shares in the company, valued at $219,483.48. This trade represents a 13.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Andrew Briggs sold 2,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $84,190.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 49,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,722,637.40. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,402 shares of company stock worth $1,136,170. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $35.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $486.36 million, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.94. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.91 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $34.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 10.72%. On average, analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 32.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.25.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Profile

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Archbold, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, The Farmers & Merchants State Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, farmers, businesses and other organizations.

The bank offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, agricultural financing, commercial loans and other credit services. Its services also include treasury management, online and mobile banking, wealth management and trust-related services, subject to availability through its operating units.

Founded in 1897, Farmers & Merchants State Bank has developed a community-banking presence in northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana.