36,436 Shares in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Bought by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 36,436 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,368,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,133,000 after acquiring an additional 332,168 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $36.23 on Wednesday. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.95.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

First Merchants Company 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.

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