First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 185.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,338 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,706 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of First Merchants worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in First Merchants by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 48,477 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 7,639 shares during the period. Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $538,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 820,649 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,736,000 after acquiring an additional 19,932 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $232,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of FRME opened at $40.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.05.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FRME. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Profile

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.