Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 13,370 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) by 123.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,174 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in First Merchants were worth $899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 511.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.17. 263,612 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 255,503. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.64 and a 200 day moving average of $37.36. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on FRME shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.60.

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.