First Merchants Corp Has $21.93 Million Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

First Merchants Corp trimmed its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 549,693 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,966 shares during the quarter. First Merchants accounts for 0.8% of First Merchants Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. First Merchants Corp owned approximately 0.94% of First Merchants worth $21,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the third quarter valued at approximately $391,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 65.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 4.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,077 shares of the bank's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 25.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,897 shares of the bank's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the 3rd 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. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on FRME shares. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Merchants 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 transaction of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.1 %

FRME stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.55. The company had a trading volume of 134,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,011. 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 50-day moving average price of $41.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.73. First Merchants Co. has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.07.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.