Recent Research Analysts’ Ratings Updates for First Merchants (FRME)

First Merchants (NASDAQ: FRME) has recently received a number of price target changes and ratings updates:

• 1/31/2025 – First Merchants had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Piper Sandler. They now have a $55.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $52.00.
• 1/31/2025 – First Merchants had its price target raised by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $50.00 to $52.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 1/31/2025 – First Merchants had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Raymond James. They now have a $50.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $42.00.
• 1/31/2025 – First Merchants was upgraded by analysts at Hovde Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating. They now have a $50.00 price target on the stock.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $44.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Co. has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.81.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Research analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.