Systematic Financial Management LP Raises Stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 749,055 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 66,380 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 1.28% of First Merchants worth $29,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 89.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,290 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,176,000 after purchasing an additional 53,033 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% in the fourth 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. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $270,000. KBC Group NV raised 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 acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 44,139 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ FRME traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $37.83. The company had a trading volume of 109,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $37.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.58. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.02. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This is a positive change from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FRME shares. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of 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 raised shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.