StockNews.com Upgrades First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on First Merchants from $41.00 to $42.50 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.9 %

First Merchants stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.69. The company had a trading volume of 132,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,939. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $24.52 and a 12-month high of $38.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.08.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $798,401.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position 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 valued at $25,982,000 after buying an additional 685,758 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,400,000. rhino investment partners Inc purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,572,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,074,407 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,001,000 after purchasing an additional 211,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 2,694.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 201,816 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,615,000 after buying an additional 194,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.