Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Makes New Investment in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 13,175 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $43.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.75. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $44.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.84.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $163.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.77% 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.