Capital International Investors Takes Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 595,112 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $23,739,000. Capital International Investors owned about 1.01% of First Merchants as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FRME. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James decreased their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.60.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME stock traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.56. The stock had a trading volume of 212,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,312. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.95. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. 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.