First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,828 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,439 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FRME. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 98.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth $223,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 30.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $261,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $36.81 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.13 and a 1 year high of $45.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.10.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $172.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 36.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on FRME. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

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.