Dividends and Earnings Per Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Dividends and Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

6. Dividends and Earnings Per Share

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp common stock is not traded on any exchange. The shares are primarily held by local residents and are not actively traded. On May 16, 2011, the Board of Directors of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp announced a mid-year cash dividend of $5.65 per share, a 6.0% increase over the $5.35 per share paid on July 1, 2010. The cash dividend was paid on June 30, 2011, to shareholders of record on June 1, 2011.

Earnings per share amounts are computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. The following table calculates the earnings per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010.

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(net income in thousands)	2011		2010		2011		2010
Net Income	$	6,267	$	6,209	$	16,548	$	16,266
Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding		779,424		780,944		779,424		780,944
Per Share Amount	$	8.04	$	7.95	$	21.23	$	20.83