Edgestream Partners L.P. Makes New Investment in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 40,126 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,601,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.07% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in First Merchants by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in First Merchants by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,962,000 after acquiring an additional 11,521 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position 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 worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 13,370 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $607,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 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 last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FRME shares. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Remove Ads

First Merchants Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of FRME stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $39.07. The company had a trading volume of 217,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,906. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.90 and a 200 day moving average of $40.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.05. First Merchants Co. has a 1-year low of $30.55 and a 1-year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.