BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC Invests $2.11 Million in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 55,826 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,105,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC owned 0.10% of First Merchants as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FRME. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its position in First Merchants by 1.0% during the second quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 27,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 11,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,070,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 135,789 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,227,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 64,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.7%

First Merchants stock opened at $42.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.13 and a fifty-two week high of $45.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.30.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 21.49%.The business had revenue of $178.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other news, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.75.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.