First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Separately, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $34.13 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $24.52 and a 1-year high of $38.16.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. First Merchants had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 22.39%. The business had revenue of $156.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.50 million. Research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $75,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.