Empowered Funds LLC Sells 26,855 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in First Merchants Corporation by 12.1%, now owning approximately 195,211 shares worth about $7.89 million.
• First Merchants announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, scheduled for payment on September 19th, representing an annual yield of 3.6%.
• Wall Street analysts are generally positive, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a price target of $48.25 for First Merchants stock.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,211 shares of the bank's stock after selling 26,855 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.33% of First Merchants worth $7,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in First Merchants by 18.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 12,600 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,083 shares of the bank's stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,296 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,927,000 after buying an additional 16,531 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $386,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of First Merchants stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.03. The stock had a trading volume of 149,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,207. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 1.10. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.13 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.77.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.