Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 7,639 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,477 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 7,639 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of First Merchants worth $2,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 67.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 123.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth about $607,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in First Merchants by 55.5% in 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 buying an additional 332,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lowered their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.20.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.11. The stock had a trading volume of 254,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,644. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

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.