Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $104,280.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.76, for a total transaction of $104,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 72,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,521,838. This represents a 3.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of FMAO stock opened at $34.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $480.85 million, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.42 and a 200-day moving average of $27.98. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $35.94.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.19. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.27%.The business had revenue of $34.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Hovde Group lowered their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.25.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 72.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 19,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% in the second 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 during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.