First Merchants Corp Has $21.94 Million Stock Position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)

First Merchants Corp cut its position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 542,610 shares of the bank's stock after selling 7,083 shares during the period. First Merchants accounts for approximately 0.9% of First Merchants Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. First Merchants Corp owned about 0.93% of First Merchants worth $21,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at $19,014,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in First Merchants by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,133,000 after buying an additional 332,168 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at $9,107,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 477,013 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,028,000 after buying an additional 197,780 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.40.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME stock opened at $38.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.15 and a 200 day moving average of $39.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.03. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.81 and a 1 year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. This is an increase from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is 40.45%.

First Merchants Company 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.

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