Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Stock Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Bancorp's stock recently surpassed its 50-day moving average of $25.56, trading at $25.34 with a volume of 31,477 shares.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2275 per share, reflecting a positive increase from the previous dividend, with a yield of 3.6%.
• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO - Get Free Report) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.56 and traded as high as $25.58. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp shares last traded at $25.34, with a volume of 31,477 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.56 and a 200 day moving average of $24.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $347.77 million, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.88.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $29.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.67 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 8.66%. Research analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2275 per share. This is a positive change from Farmers & Merchants Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 42.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $909,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 948.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $210,000. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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