First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Acquired by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in First Merchants Corporation by 285.4%, acquiring 104,002 shares, bringing its total holdings to 140,438 shares valued at approximately $5.68 million.
• First Merchants Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, with the payout date set for September 19th.
• The company's stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion and experienced quarterly earnings per share of $0.98, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.94.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 285.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,438 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 104,002 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned 0.24% of First Merchants worth $5,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth $658,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,288 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 41,781 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 12,600 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in First Merchants by 10,900.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,231 shares of the bank's stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 21,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in First Merchants by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 120,622 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 19,063 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 190,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 205,453. The business's fifty day moving average is $40.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 1.10. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.13 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The business had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About First Merchants

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.