Insider Selling: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $172,320.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.72, for a total transaction of $172,320.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 168,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,840,756. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FMAO opened at $30.39 on Friday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.77 and a 1-year high of $30.90. The company has a market cap of $418.46 million, a PE ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.75.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 18.54% and a return on equity of 9.85%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted 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 acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 acquiring an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up from $28.50) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their price objective on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.