OneAscent Financial Services LLC Acquires New Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 123,037 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,577,000. First Merchants comprises about 3.3% of OneAscent Financial Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. OneAscent Financial Services LLC owned approximately 0.21% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded down $0.45 on Tuesday, reaching $42.86. 123,732 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 258,696. First Merchants Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.20 and a fifty-two week high of $45.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.18 and a 200 day moving average of $36.32. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.01.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens lowered shares of First Merchants from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.60.

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.