Wellington Management Group LLP Takes $2.68 Million Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has acquired 66,259 shares of First Merchants Corporation, valued at approximately $2.68 million, increasing its stake in the bank to about 0.11%.
• First Merchants Corporation recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, with a payout date set for September 19th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have upgraded First Merchants' stock rating to "hold" while also forecasting an average target price of $48.25, indicating positive sentiment in the market.

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 66,259 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,680,000. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.11% of First Merchants as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 34,339 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter valued at about $24,523,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 23,650 shares of the bank's stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 24,573 shares of the bank's stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at about $921,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRME traded up $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $41.63. The stock had a trading volume of 48,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,818. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $46.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.96.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.25.

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.