Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,440 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 935 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.06% of First Merchants worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in First Merchants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.39 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.69. First Merchants Co. has a 52-week low of $30.55 and a 52-week high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently 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.