First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,022 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,572 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the first quarter worth $46,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.4%

FRME opened at $38.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.65. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.13 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.25.

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.