Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $16.66 Million Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 447,785 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,893 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.76% of First Merchants worth $16,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $43.96 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.73. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $30.25 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens downgraded First Merchants from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Hovde Group started coverage on First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.60.

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.