William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 59,782 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 724,679 shares of the bank's stock after selling 59,782 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 1.24% of First Merchants worth $27,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,288 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 135,789 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,227,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 7,335 shares of the bank's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 98.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ FRME opened at $35.71 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $39.29 and its 200 day moving average is $38.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.13 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.05.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 37.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Merchants from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research raised First Merchants from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Raymond James Financial cut First Merchants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings cut First Merchants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.