First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28), FiscalAI reports. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.The firm had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.28 on Wednesday, hitting $43.75. The company had a trading volume of 555,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,994. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.22.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 43.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,815,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,058,247 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,663,000 after buying an additional 104,260 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 956,197 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,838,000 after purchasing an additional 8,699 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 764,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,640,000 after acquiring an additional 96,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in First Merchants by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 715,488 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,816,000 after purchasing an additional 93,215 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.