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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.66, for a total transaction of $85,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 165,550 shares in the company, valued at $4,744,663. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $29.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $30.05. The company has a market capitalization of $412.14 million, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.82.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm 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, equities analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $921,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FMAO has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price target (up from $28.50) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Thursday. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.25.

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.