First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Plans $0.35 Quarterly Dividend

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 7th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the bank on Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th.

First Merchants has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. First Merchants has a dividend payout ratio of 34.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.2%.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of FRME stock opened at $44.67 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.51. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $30.55 and a 1-year high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. On average, research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $316,955.04. Following the sale, the president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FRME shares. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Company 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.