Larry Myers Sells 5,000 Shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) VP Larry Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,876.50. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $41.05. The stock had a trading volume of 425,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,256. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.49 and its 200 day moving average is $38.60. First Merchants Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.13 and a 12 month high of $44.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 21.49%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 325.7% during 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FRME. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.75.

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.