Denali Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Denali Advisors LLC lowered its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,500 shares of the bank's stock after selling 14,800 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC owned about 0.29% of First Merchants worth $6,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in First Merchants during the third quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in First Merchants by 270.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 448,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,828. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.15. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants 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.