Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,720 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,225,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.05% of First Merchants as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in First Merchants by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $35.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.89 and a 200 day moving average of $40.56. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. 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 (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. As a group, research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's payout ratio is presently 39.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.40.

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.

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