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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.44, for a total transaction of $79,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 240,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,347,847.40. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FMAO traded up $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 50,107. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $383.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.82. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.59 and a twelve month high of $29.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.99.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.25%.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $921,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased 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 worth $112,000 after buying an additional 4,013 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FMAO shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.