Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $31.18 Million Stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 771,057 shares of the bank's stock after selling 35,581 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.32% of First Merchants worth $31,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at $470,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in First Merchants by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in First Merchants by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 731,413 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,176,000 after purchasing an additional 9,265 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at $19,014,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at $1,601,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:FRME traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.81. The stock had a trading volume of 340,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 273,050. The business's 50 day moving average is $37.70 and its 200 day moving average is $39.33. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $32.28 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million for 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 predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Merchants Company 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.