5,324,728 Shares in First Merchants Corporation $FRME Purchased by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 5.3 million First Merchants shares worth approximately $232.6 million, giving it an 8.48% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 73.92% of the bank.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $49 price target; Piper Sandler recently raised its target to $51.
• First Merchants reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, below the $1.02 consensus estimate, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.37, equivalent to a 3.6% annual yield.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,324,728 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $232,637,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 8.48% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 27,081,812.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,165,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $568,417,000 after purchasing an additional 15,165,815 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,156,000. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 633,668 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,750,000 after buying an additional 338,950 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Merchants by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,596,017 shares of the bank's stock valued at $139,272,000 after purchasing an additional 277,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 252.0% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 321,550 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,122,000 after acquiring an additional 230,192 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $41.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.97. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.66 and a fifty-two week high of $45.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 17.05%. Analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.44%.

First Merchants Profile

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.

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