Nuveen Asset Management LLC Acquires 43,066 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 626,508 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 43,066 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 1.07% of First Merchants worth $24,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 809.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in First Merchants by 270.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in First Merchants by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Trading Up 2.7%

First Merchants stock traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.35. The stock had a trading volume of 54,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,679. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 1.02. First Merchants Co. has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. The business had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the subject of several research reports. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.