181,764 Shares in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 181,764 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $7,251,000. Norges Bank owned 0.31% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in First Merchants by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.20.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ FRME traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $34.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,184. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $41.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.95. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. Analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.94%.

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.