First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Stake Lessened by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,003,206 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,921 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.71% of First Merchants worth $37,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 12.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,616 shares of the bank's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,962,000 after buying an additional 11,521 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,321 shares of the bank's stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 77,303 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,876,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 10.6% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.1 %

First Merchants stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.48. 240,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 383,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Merchants Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.20 and a fifty-two week high of $45.08. The company's fifty day moving average price is $38.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.25. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.01.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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