Capital International Investors Invests $23.74 Million in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 595,112 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $23,739,000. Capital International Investors owned about 1.01% of First Merchants as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Merchants by 809.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Down 2.6 %

FRME stock traded down $0.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.56. 212,220 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 263,279. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.95. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.54.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James dropped 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. Finally, Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.60.

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.