First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 4.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,445,904 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 126,013 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $92,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FRME. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,105,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at $270,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at $599,000. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth $1,297,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth $6,109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of FRME stock opened at $36.43 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Merchants Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.13 and a 1-year high of $43.22.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at $848,464.27. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research downgraded First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.75.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.