Systematic Financial Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 682,675 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 93,319 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 1.16% of First Merchants worth $25,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Up 1.8 %

FRME opened at $43.73 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.01. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lowered First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Merchants in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.60.

First Merchants Profile

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.