Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $139.11 Million Stock Holdings in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in First Merchants Corporation by 2.2%, now owning approximately 5.90% of the company, valued at $139 million.
• First Merchants recently reported earnings per share of $0.98, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its revenue for the quarter was slightly below forecasts at $170.52 million.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.6%, payable to shareholders on September 19th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,439,858 shares of the bank's stock after selling 76,704 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.90% of First Merchants worth $139,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FRME. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 13,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,225,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 121,969 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 9,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in First Merchants by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 689,556 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,506,000 after purchasing an additional 108,929 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of FRME stock traded up $0.37 on Tuesday, reaching $41.42. The company had a trading volume of 220,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,872. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.28 and a 200-day moving average of $39.05. First Merchants Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.13 and a 12 month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.The company had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.