Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 18,788 First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 18,788 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $728,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted 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. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in First Merchants by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth $203,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME stock opened at $43.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.83. First Merchants Corporation has a 12-month low of $34.66 and a 12-month high of $45.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.84.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.44%.

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.