Dividends and Basic Earnings Per Common Share

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Dividends and Basic Earnings Per Common Share [Abstract]

Dividends and Basic Earnings Per Common Share

6. Dividends and Basic Earnings Per Common 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. However, trades are reported on the OTCQX under the symbol “FMCB.”

On May 14, 2019, the Board of Directors declared a mid-year cash dividend of $7.05 per share, a 2.2% increase over the $6.90 per share paid on July 2, 2018. The cash dividend was paid on July 1, 2019, to shareholders of record on June 14, 2019.

Basic earnings per common share amounts are computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. The Company has no securities or other contracts, such as stock options, that could require the issuance of common stock. Accordingly, diluted earnings per share is the same amount as basic earnings per share. The following table calculates the basic earnings per common share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
(net income in thousands)	2019		2018		2019		2018
Net Income	$	13,738	$	12,000	$	41,392	$	32,491
Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding		787,307		793,418		786,361		807,129
Basic Earnings Per Common Share Amount	$	17.45	$	15.12	$	52.64	$	40.26