Insider Selling: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Sells $83,280.00 in Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.76, for a total value of $83,280.00. Following the sale, the director owned 207,085 shares in the company, valued at $5,748,679.60. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ FMAO opened at $28.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.82. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $22.77 and a one year high of $29.83. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $26.96 and its 200-day moving average is $26.29.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%.The business had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.54 million. Equities research analysts predict that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FMAO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Hovde Group cut 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 682,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,072,000 after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares in the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1,659.8% during the fourth quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 485,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,991,000 after purchasing an additional 457,500 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 301,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,448,000 after buying an additional 2,402 shares in the last quarter. Align Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,844,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 5.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 226,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,825,000 after buying an additional 12,356 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

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.