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Have Insiders Been Selling Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Shares This Year?

We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO).

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

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We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'

View our latest analysis for Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Director, Paul Siebenmorgen, sold US$271k worth of shares at a price of US$42.50 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$24.90. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Paul Siebenmorgen was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

Paul Siebenmorgen ditched 15000 shares over the year. The average price per share was US$42.32. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

NasdaqCM:FMAO Recent Insider Trading, August 27th 2019
NasdaqCM:FMAO Recent Insider Trading, August 27th 2019

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp insiders own about US$28m worth of shares. That equates to 10% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. Our analysis of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp insider transactions leaves us cautious. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.