Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock Price

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the bank's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on FRME. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.6 %

FRME traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $44.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 261,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,228. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50-day moving average is $41.37 and its 200-day moving average is $39.36.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.94%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 93.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 424,130 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,778,000 after buying an additional 204,736 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,577,000. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in First Merchants by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 682,675 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,396,000 after buying an additional 93,319 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 2,420.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 78,194 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 75,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

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.