Choreo LLC Has $584,000 Stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)

Key Points

• Choreo LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants Corporation by 156.9%, acquiring an additional 8,813 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 14,430 shares valued at $584,000.
• Following various adjustments by hedge funds, 73.92% of First Merchants' stock is currently owned by institutional investors, including significant stakes from Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase.
• First Merchants reported a quarterly EPS of $0.98, exceeding estimates, and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share, marking an annualized yield of 3.62%.

Choreo LLC lifted its position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 156.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,430 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 8,813 shares during the period. Choreo LLC's holdings in First Merchants were worth $584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants by 44.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the bank's stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME stock traded down $0.45 on Thursday, reaching $38.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 54,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,353. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $38.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.44. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.13 and a 1 year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two equities 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, First Merchants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.20.

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.