Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Invests $3.33 Million in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 48,389 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth approximately $27,195,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in First Merchants by 892.3% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 84,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,255,000 after acquiring an additional 75,579 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in First Merchants by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 861,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,385,000 after acquiring an additional 83,667 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the second quarter worth $4,273,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 32.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 147,699 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,720,000 after purchasing an additional 36,563 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $41.92 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.95 and its 200 day moving average is $40.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. First Merchants Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.66 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.84.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. Research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

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.