Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires New Position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired 27,214 shares of First Merchants Corporation, investing approximately $1.1 million in the bank's stock during the first quarter.
• Several analysts adjusted their ratings and price targets for First Merchants, with the average target price set at $46.20 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• First Merchants increased its quarterly dividend from $0.35 to $0.36 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.72% with a payout ratio of 37.31%.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,214 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,101,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% during 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. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.20.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.38. The stock had a trading volume of 110,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,249. The stock's 50 day moving average is $38.63 and its 200 day moving average is $39.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 1.08. First Merchants Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The business had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

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.