OneAscent Financial Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 100.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 247,024 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 123,738 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC owned about 0.42% of First Merchants worth $9,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants in the 1st quarter valued at $1,446,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the bank's stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth $216,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,335 shares of the bank's stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.61. 1,008,644 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 277,303. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $38.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.37. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.02. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.13 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 19.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is an increase from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FRME. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.40.

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.