Systematic Financial Management LP Acquires 83,667 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 10.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 861,995 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 83,667 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 1.37% of First Merchants worth $33,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 361.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in First Merchants by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Key First Merchants News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Merchants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted margin gains in the Q2 earnings call, suggesting some improvement in profitability trends. First Merchants Balances Margin Gains With Credit Strain
• Neutral Sentiment: First Merchants released its Q2 2026 earnings call transcript and presentation, which likely provided more detail on loan growth, credit quality, and outlook. First Merchants Corporation (FRME) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also published its Q2 2026 earnings presentation for investors reviewing the quarter’s operating trends and guidance. First Merchants Corporation 2026 Q2 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 earnings came in below expectations, with EPS of $0.74 versus estimates near $1.02-$1.03, and revenue also slightly missed consensus. First Merchants stock page
• Negative Sentiment: Reports around the release pointed to ongoing credit strain, which may be weighing on investor sentiment despite the margin improvement. First Merchants Balances Margin Gains With Credit Strain

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FRME. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of FRME opened at $41.89 on Friday. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.66 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43 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 the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 17.05%.The company had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 43.53%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants 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.