Rhumbline Advisers Acquires 272 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,923 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of First Merchants worth $3,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in First Merchants by 4,586.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 700,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,982,000 after buying an additional 685,758 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp raised its holdings in First Merchants by 457.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,370,000 after buying an additional 477,462 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $14,400,000. rhino investment partners Inc bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $8,572,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Merchants by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,074,407 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,001,000 after purchasing an additional 211,113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $36.93 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.44 and its 200 day moving average is $34.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.02. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $25.70 and a one year high of $42.44.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.35 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 9.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 40.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on FRME. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens lowered shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Three equities research 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 a consensus price target of $42.20.

First Merchants Company 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.