12,628 Shares in First Merchants Corporation $FRME Purchased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,628 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 121.1% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 98,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 53,953 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 8.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 947,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,721,000 after purchasing an additional 73,725 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 64.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,756,000 after purchasing an additional 527,545 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in First Merchants by 137.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 37,124 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,874,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $43.69 on Wednesday. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.66 and a fifty-two week high of $44.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.68.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $163.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 43.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FRME. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.