Tufton Capital Management Makes New Investment in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO)

Tufton Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000. Tufton Capital Management owned about 0.07% of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 19,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group began coverage on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

FMAO traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $20.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,988. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.90 and a 52 week high of $27.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average is $20.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $274.29 million, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.61.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $23.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.90 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 14.62%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 52.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jo Ellen Hornish purchased 3,594 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.56 per share, for a total transaction of $73,892.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $822,400. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Farmers & Merchants State Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and small businesses in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and custodial services for individual retirement and health savings accounts.