Phocas Financial Corp. Decreases Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 82.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,731 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 197,499 shares during the quarter. First Merchants accounts for approximately 1.3% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Phocas Financial Corp. owned about 0.07% of First Merchants worth $1,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in First Merchants in the third quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $42.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.62 and its 200 day moving average is $40.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.