Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 332,168 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 55.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 930,896 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 332,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.59% of First Merchants worth $37,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in First Merchants by 67.9% during 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 last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in First Merchants by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank's stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at about $607,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.31. The company had a trading volume of 220,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,479. First Merchants Co. has a 52-week low of $30.55 and a 52-week high of $46.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $41.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.38. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.