Millennium Management LLC Sells 288,895 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 90.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,146 shares of the bank's stock after selling 288,895 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in First Merchants were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its position in First Merchants by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in First Merchants by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,101 shares of the bank's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.95. 258,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 263,448. The company's fifty day moving average is $36.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.21. First Merchants Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.55 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.03.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.23 million. On average, analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants 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.