Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,132 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 12,050 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.36% of First Merchants worth $7,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FRME. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 76.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,313 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 12,721 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the 1st quarter worth about $251,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 154,379 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,388,000 after acquiring an additional 26,772 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in First Merchants by 84.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 31,082 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 14,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,137 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of First Merchants stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $43.48. The stock had a trading volume of 240,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,694. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.04 and a 200 day moving average of $36.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.20 and a twelve month high of $45.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.01.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is 46.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FRME shares. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of First Merchants from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.