Analysts Set First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target at $47.75

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.75.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FRME. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, December 29th.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.1%

FRME opened at $37.85 on Monday. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $33.13 and a fifty-two week high of $43.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.35 and its 200 day moving average is $38.21.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $178.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 21.49%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity

In other First Merchants news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $136,469.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $848,464.27. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 12,905 shares of the bank’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 6,350 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in First Merchants by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,595 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its position in First Merchants by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 95,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,561,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $310,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $3,725,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.