Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Buys New Shares in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,765 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in First Merchants by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 178,829 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,953,000 after buying an additional 4,349 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 58,820 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,958,000 after buying an additional 21,900 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,074 shares of the bank's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in First Merchants by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 213,656 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,113,000 after buying an additional 10,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 138,446 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,609,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.6 %

First Merchants stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.35. 144,437 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 173,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.06. First Merchants Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.55 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $41.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.18.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is 46.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

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

First Merchants 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.