Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Invests $233,000 in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,835 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 65.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the bank's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in First Merchants by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,897 shares of the bank's stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in First Merchants by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,072 shares of the bank's stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on FRME shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Price Performance

First Merchants stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.42. 225,535 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 228,660. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.84.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Equities analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. First Merchants's payout ratio is 40.94%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 92,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.