First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Bought by Tudor Investment Corp ET AL

Key Points

• Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in First Merchants by 121.1% in Q3 to 98,523 shares (about 0.17% of the company), and other institutions also increased positions, leaving 73.92% of the stock held by institutions.
• Quarterly results and payout: First Merchants beat estimates with $0.98 EPS (vs. $0.96 expected) and $178.36M revenue; the bank has a $2.63B market cap, a P/E of 10.66, and pays a $0.36 quarterly dividend (3.5% yield, 37.02% payout ratio).
• Analyst view and insider activity: the stock carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $48.33 average price target (recent upgrades include Weiss and Piper Sandler to $49), while insiders have been selling and own only 1.37% of shares.

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,523 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 53,953 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned about 0.17% of First Merchants worth $3,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 9.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,100 shares of the bank's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter worth about $235,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter worth about $296,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 50.2% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 393,408 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,831,000 after purchasing an additional 131,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 2.6% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 58,016 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $41.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $33.43 and a one year high of $43.22. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $39.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.88.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FRME shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.33.

First Merchants 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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