NewEdge Advisors LLC Makes New $645,000 Investment in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,641 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRME. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 361.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in First Merchants by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. 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 Price Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $43.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.17 and its 200 day moving average is $40.51. First Merchants Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.66 and a twelve month high of $45.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.44%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the director owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.