Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 476,657 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $19,014,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.81% of First Merchants as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in First Merchants by 108.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 139.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the third quarter valued at $89,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in First Merchants by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 12.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,616 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME stock opened at $40.31 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.45. 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 capitalization of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.