First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its position in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 690,835 shares of the bank's stock after selling 240,061 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.18% of First Merchants worth $27,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter worth $216,000. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter worth $46,000. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 11.2% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,335 shares of the bank's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,288 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter worth $658,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,008,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 277,303. First Merchants Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.13 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $38.44 and its 200-day moving average is $39.37.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 19.63%. Equities research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.