Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 70.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 477,013 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 197,780 shares during the period. First Merchants comprises approximately 1.5% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.81% of First Merchants worth $19,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in First Merchants by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $607,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $37,133,000 after purchasing an additional 332,168 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in First Merchants by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 43,275 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,610,000 after buying an additional 5,016 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.20.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock traded down $0.42 on Thursday, reaching $36.50. 482,962 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,347. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.54. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.95.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.02. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

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.