NewEdge Advisors LLC Invests $645,000 in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 16,641 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FRME. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 361.7% in 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 during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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 First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $41.94 on Friday. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.66 and a fifty-two week high of $45.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.96. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released 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 net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The business had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. Analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 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.