First Merchants Corporation $FRME Stock Holdings Lessened by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 29.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 766,252 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 315,076 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.33% of First Merchants worth $29,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 361.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 98.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the first quarter valued at $223,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 30.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth about $235,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $38.59 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.63 and its 200-day moving average is $38.24. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Merchants Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.13 and a 52-week high of $45.62.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $172.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same period last year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” 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.