NewEdge Advisors LLC Makes New $645,000 Investment in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,641 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 46.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 243,276 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,422,000 after acquiring an additional 77,155 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth $865,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in First Merchants by 31.3% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 16,873 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in First Merchants by 12.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 29,669 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its position in First Merchants by 2.6% during the first quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 97,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,776,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $41.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.94 and a 200 day moving average of $40.96. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $45.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. On average, research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 47.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other First Merchants 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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants 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.