Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Acquires 197,780 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 70.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 477,013 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 197,780 shares during the quarter. First Merchants accounts for about 1.5% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.81% of First Merchants worth $19,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 809.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in First Merchants by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.60.

First Merchants Stock Down 2.9 %

First Merchants stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.45. The stock had a trading volume of 95,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,060. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $39.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.54.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is 40.94%.

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.