Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,596,017 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 277,977 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.68% of First Merchants worth $139,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in First Merchants by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 98,523 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 53,953 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in First Merchants by 892.3% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 84,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,255,000 after purchasing an additional 75,579 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,874,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in First Merchants by 66.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 50,226 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 20,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 205,200 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,691,000 after buying an additional 24,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME opened at $43.18 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $41.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.84. First Merchants Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.66 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 17.05%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.44%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In related news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut First Merchants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Company 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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