KBC Group NV Purchases 665 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 665 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FRME. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $270,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $607,000. City Center Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in First Merchants by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after buying an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $44.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.51. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.94%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Profile

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.