Two Sigma Investments LP Has $485,000 Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 68.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,153 shares of the bank's stock after selling 26,318 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in First Merchants were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FRME. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank's stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,101 shares of the bank's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.40.

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.98. 289,091 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 264,058. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $36.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.80 and a 52 week high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $171.23 million. On average, analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.45%.

About First Merchants

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.