UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 21.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 124,573 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 21,750 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.21% of First Merchants worth $4,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 23,771 shares of the bank's stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $260,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $669,000. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 749,055 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,880,000 after buying an additional 66,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $311,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.7%

FRME stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.55. 254,677 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,248. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.25. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.