Insider Selling: Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) EVP Sells 825 Shares of Stock

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) EVP David Gerken sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.16, for a total transaction of $23,232.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,453.44. The trade was a 9.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Down 1.4%

FMAO traded down $0.41 on Monday, hitting $28.39. The company had a trading volume of 79,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,133. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.77 and a 12-month high of $29.83. The company has a market cap of $390.93 million, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.82.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $32.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.54 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.54%. Equities research analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMAO. Royal Bank of Canada grew 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 buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in 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 worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group dropped 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $28.50 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.50.

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.