Rep. Robert E. Latta Purchases Shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO)

Representative Robert E. Latta (R-Ohio) recently bought shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO). In a filing disclosed on November 07th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock on October 20th.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 4.2 %

NASDAQ:FMAO opened at $32.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $17.29 and a one year high of $32.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.80. The stock has a market cap of $438.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.63.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.08. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 13.16%. The firm had revenue of $45.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.93 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.221 dividend. This is a boost from Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FMAO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 583,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,010,000 after purchasing an additional 12,195 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 118,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 12,223 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 54,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,765 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $245,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Latta

Bob Latta (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Ohio’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2007. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Latta (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 5, 2024. Latta was named Republican ranking member for the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communication and Technology during the 116th Congress. Previously, Latta served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007 and the Ohio State Senate from 1997 to 2000.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

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.