Citigroup Inc. Sells 45,612 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its stake in First Merchants by 41%, selling 45,612 shares and leaving it with 65,566 shares worth about $2.47 million.
• Company insiders also sold stock recently — VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares at $41.50 and Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares at $42.29 — leaving insiders with roughly 1.37% ownership.
• First Merchants beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.98 vs. $0.96), announced a $0.36 quarterly dividend (≈3.8% yield), and trades with a $2.38B market cap and a consensus "Hold" rating (average price target $47.75).

Citigroup Inc. lessened its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,566 shares of the bank's stock after selling 45,612 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.11% of First Merchants worth $2,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in First Merchants by 0.3% in the 2nd 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. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,127,423 shares of the bank's stock valued at $43,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,965 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 2.0% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 760,551 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,129,000 after purchasing an additional 15,143 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 2.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 691,565 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,072,000 after buying an additional 13,400 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 7.6% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 397,123 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,210,000 after buying an additional 28,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $136,469.83. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Merchants Trading Down 2.6%

First Merchants stock opened at $37.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day moving average of $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $43.22.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 21.49%.The business had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered First Merchants from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.75.

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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