Squarepoint Ops LLC Takes $669,000 Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,774 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in First Merchants by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 749,055 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,880,000 after acquiring an additional 66,380 shares during the last quarter. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth $311,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 626,508 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,991,000 after acquiring an additional 43,066 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in First Merchants by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,186 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $386,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.40.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.55. The stock had a trading volume of 138,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,868. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.02. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $37.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.25.

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

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

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.