First Merchants Corporation $FRME Stake Boosted by Sei Investments Co.

Key Points

• Sei Investments increased its First Merchants stake by 32.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 147,699 shares valued at approximately $5.72 million. Institutional investors collectively own 73.92% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: First Merchants has three Buy and three Hold ratings, with a consensus price target of $49. Piper Sandler raised its target to $51 and maintained an Overweight rating.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, below the $1.02 consensus estimate, while revenue broadly matched expectations at $202.49 million. First Merchants raised its quarterly dividend to $0.37 per share, representing a 3.4% yield.

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 32.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,699 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 36,563 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.23% of First Merchants worth $5,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its position in First Merchants by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 28,184 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in First Merchants by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 25,264 shares of the bank's stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,058 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $43.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.95. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.66 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.29 and a 200-day moving average of $40.59.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. Equities analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Merchants's payout ratio is presently 47.44%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 99,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Company 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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