415,568 Shares in First Merchants Corporation $FRME Purchased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 415,568 First Merchants shares worth approximately $18.2 million, representing about 0.66% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 73.92% of FRME.
• First Merchants reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, missing the $1.02 consensus estimate, while revenue of $202.49 million was roughly in line with expectations. The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37, equating to a 3.6% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: the stock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $49, compared with a recent share price of about $41.47.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 415,568 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $18,156,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.66% of First Merchants as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 27,081,812.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,165,871 shares of the bank's stock valued at $568,417,000 after purchasing an additional 15,165,815 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 8.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,596,017 shares of the bank's stock worth $139,272,000 after purchasing an additional 277,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,815,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC grew its position in First Merchants by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,058,247 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,663,000 after buying an additional 104,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in First Merchants by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 956,197 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,838,000 after buying an additional 8,699 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.1%

First Merchants stock opened at $41.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. First Merchants Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.66 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $43.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.97.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 17.05%.The business had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FRME. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company's core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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