Insider Selling: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $92,010.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.67, for a total transaction of $92,010.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 138,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,249,328.50. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Down 2.7%

FMAO opened at $29.49 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.95. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.77 and a 52 week high of $32.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $406.08 million, a PE ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.81.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%.The firm had revenue of $32.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.54 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FMAO. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 72.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 19,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on FMAO. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (up from $28.50) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced 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 report on Friday, April 24th. One investment 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, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

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.