First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Acquired by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,139 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $1,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,368,000 after buying an additional 54,265 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,962,000 after buying an additional 11,521 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 123.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 13,370 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $607,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 6.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,854,000 after buying an additional 12,050 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

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

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $42.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.06.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.25.

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.