Geode Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,392,259 shares of the bank's stock after selling 8,562 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.37% of First Merchants worth $55,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in First Merchants by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position 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 worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.53. 415,995 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 263,372. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.53. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.95. 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 (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Equities analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's payout ratio is 40.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James decreased 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. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.20.

First Merchants 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.