Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 958,612 shares of the bank's stock after selling 44,594 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.63% of First Merchants worth $38,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank's stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,616 shares of the bank's stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

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First Merchants Trading Down 1.7 %

First Merchants stock traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 220,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,479. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.93 and a 200-day moving average of $40.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) 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 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of First Merchants 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.