First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
First Merchants Trading Down 2.4 %
NASDAQ:FRME opened at $42.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.58. First Merchants Co. has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 1.05.
First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.
First Merchants Announces Dividend
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The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.20%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.60.
View Our Latest Report on FRME
Institutional Trading of First Merchants
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Merchants by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,475,053 shares of the bank's stock worth $115,682,000 after buying an additional 180,323 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,694,006 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,683,000 after purchasing an additional 75,677 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400,821 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,120,000 after purchasing an additional 11,430 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,148 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,864,000 after buying an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
First Merchants Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.
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