Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires Shares of 159,491 First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 159,491 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,109,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.28% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 4.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 24,573 shares of the bank’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 1.5% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 23,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at $24,523,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 34,339 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $36.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. First Merchants Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.13 and a 52-week high of $45.62.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $172.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Raymond James Financial lowered First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.60.

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.