First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Holdings Trimmed by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,374 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,600 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in First Merchants were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 809.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in First Merchants by 270.1% in 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in First Merchants by 27.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FRME. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.40.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.95. 258,384 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,872. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.13. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

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.