41,614 Shares in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 41,614 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,660,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.07% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in First Merchants by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $35.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 96,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,579. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.62. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. Analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.