Analysts Set First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) PT at $47.75

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.75.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.7%

FRME stock opened at $39.35 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.56 and a 200 day moving average of $38.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.93. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $44.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 21.49%.The firm had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,876.50. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $848,464.27. The trade was a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in First Merchants by 27,081,812.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,165,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $568,417,000 after buying an additional 15,165,815 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,815,000 after acquiring an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in First Merchants by 64.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,756,000 after acquiring an additional 527,545 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 2.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,127,423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $43,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,058,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,663,000 after acquiring an additional 104,260 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.