The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 432,341 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $18,889,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.69% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in First Merchants by 1.0% in the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 28,184 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,058 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,070,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Merchants news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $41.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. First Merchants Corporation has a 52-week low of $34.66 and a 52-week high of $45.33. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $43.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.84.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.44%.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company's core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.

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