First Merchants Corp Cuts Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

First Merchants Corp decreased its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 549,693 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12,966 shares during the quarter. First Merchants accounts for about 0.8% of First Merchants Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $21,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants in the third quarter worth about $391,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,077 shares of the bank’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in First Merchants by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,897 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 3,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.1 %

First Merchants stock opened at $44.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.48 and a 200 day moving average of $39.63. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.