Earnest Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,694,006 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 75,677 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 4.60% of First Merchants worth $89,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 1.0% during the second 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 period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 5.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 213,656 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,113,000 after purchasing an additional 10,206 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,614 shares of the bank's stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,074 shares of the bank's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 204,177 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,797,000 after buying an additional 57,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

FRME traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $36.79. The company had a trading volume of 197,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,814. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.03. The company has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $42.44.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.35 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 9.17%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 40.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FRME shares. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens downgraded First Merchants from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.20.

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.