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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.59, for a total transaction of $94,770.00. Following the sale, the director owned 93,550 shares in the company, valued at $2,955,244.50. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of FMAO opened at $33.34 on Friday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $35.94. The company has a market cap of $459.09 million, a P/E ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.62.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.19. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 20.27%.The firm had revenue of $34.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. Research analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FMAO. Align Financial LLC acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $6,844,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $1,765,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,319,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 186.8% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 33,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $616,000. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FMAO. Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

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.