Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases 112,500 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Merchants Corporation by 49.3% during the first quarter, owning approximately 340,800 shares valued at $13.78 million.
• First Merchants Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.44 with a yield of 3.5%.
• Currently, 73.92% of First Merchants' stock is owned by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional support for the company.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 49.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 340,800 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 112,500 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.58% of First Merchants worth $13,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 31.9% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 9,929 shares of the bank's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 842.5% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 334,593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,531,000 after acquiring an additional 299,092 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,680,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 8.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 34,339 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,389,000 after buying an additional 2,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter valued at approximately $24,523,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ FRME opened at $41.05 on Tuesday. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.13 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 1.08.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.The firm had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First Merchants's payout ratio is 37.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.25.

First Merchants Company 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.

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