First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Increases Dividend to $0.35 Per Share

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 8th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the bank on Friday, June 21st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34.

First Merchants has raised its dividend by an average of 8.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. First Merchants has a payout ratio of 39.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Merchants to earn $3.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.0%.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $36.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 265,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,470. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. First Merchants has a one year low of $24.52 and a one year high of $38.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 1.08.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $42.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

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.