Brokerages Set First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Target Price at $49.00

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on FRME. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in First Merchants by 4,292.5% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,111,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,946,000 after buying an additional 3,040,763 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth $339,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $12,142,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at $490,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $41.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $34.66 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.98 and its 200-day moving average is $40.98.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.44%.

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.