First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,516,562 shares of the bank's stock after selling 32,022 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.99% of First Merchants worth $140,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

First Merchants Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of FRME stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $35.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,037. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $30.55 and a 1-year 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FRME. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.40.

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.