Odyssean LLC Purchases 16,957 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Odyssean LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 125.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,458 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,957 shares during the quarter. Odyssean LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $1,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FRME. Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth approximately $229,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,193,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth $297,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth $2,349,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME opened at $42.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.84. First Merchants Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.66 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.97.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

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

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 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About First Merchants

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.