First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.3333.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Merchants news, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,876.50. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 19.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 118,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after purchasing an additional 19,375 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 6.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 132,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,370,000 after purchasing an additional 8,212 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 941.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after purchasing an additional 97,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 42.6% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 43,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.23. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $34.60 and a 12 month high of $43.22.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $178.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.