Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Buys New Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,509 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in First Merchants by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank's stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,101 shares of the bank's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $39.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,139. 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 has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.51. First Merchants Co. has a 1-year low of $30.55 and a 1-year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FRME. 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 raised shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.