Denali Advisors LLC Sells 8,121 Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)

Denali Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,379 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,121 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.27% of First Merchants worth $6,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Merchants by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,336,937 shares of the bank's stock valued at $252,780,000 after acquiring an additional 138,689 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 749,055 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,880,000 after purchasing an additional 66,380 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 745,439 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,736,000 after purchasing an additional 49,384 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 689,556 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,506,000 after purchasing an additional 108,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 626,508 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,991,000 after purchasing an additional 43,066 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of First Merchants stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $40.61. 1,008,644 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,303. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $38.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.02. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 9.28%. On average, research analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.40.

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.