EJF Capital LLC Buys 17,813 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

EJF Capital LLC raised its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 149.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,697 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,813 shares during the quarter. EJF Capital LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $1,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants by 361.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the third quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $848,464.27. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

First Merchants Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of FRME stock opened at $39.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.55 and its 200 day moving average is $38.62. First Merchants Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.13 and a 52-week high of $44.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The company 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 business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

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.