Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 16,531 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 52.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,296 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,531 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.08% of First Merchants worth $1,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FRME. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% in 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. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in First Merchants by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on FRME shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.40.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $37.34 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.02. 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.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 40.45%.

First Merchants Company 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.