Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Shares Pass Below 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO)’s share price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $25.00 and traded as low as $24.06. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares last traded at $24.39, with a volume of 28,875 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on FMAO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $335.36 million, a PE ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.50 and its 200 day moving average is $25.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 9.16%. The company had revenue of $31.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.35 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 682,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,072,000 after buying an additional 4,979 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 299,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,572,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 3.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 201,884 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,050,000 after acquiring an additional 6,806 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $817,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised 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 worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial banking, retail banking, and financial services. It includes commercial, agricultural, and residential mortgages as well as consumer and credit card lending activities. The firm also offers checking account services, and savings and time deposit services.