Eagle Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 93.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 424,130 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 204,736 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.72% of First Merchants worth $15,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 1.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 6.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,854,000 after acquiring an additional 12,050 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in First Merchants by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,072 shares of the bank's stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp grew its stake in First Merchants by 457.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,370,000 after acquiring an additional 477,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,218,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Up 1.5 %

FRME stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.05. 193,872 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,771. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.20 and a 12-month high of $45.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.55. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's payout ratio is 46.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FRME shares. Stephens lowered First Merchants from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.60.

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.