State Street Corp Sells 94,225 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

State Street Corp lessened its stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,956,559 shares of the bank's stock after selling 94,225 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.33% of First Merchants worth $72,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 511.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.11. The company had a trading volume of 60,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,333. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $41.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.65.

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 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 company had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders 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 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.20%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.60.

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.