Capital International Investors Has $50.76 Million Stock Holdings in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Capital International Investors raised its holdings in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 64.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 527,545 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned about 2.33% of First Merchants worth $50,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 169.3% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 261,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,031,000 after acquiring an additional 164,664 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,109,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 323,180 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,184,000 after purchasing an additional 147,704 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 843,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,788,000 after purchasing an additional 118,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 941.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,362,000 after purchasing an additional 97,504 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,543,876.50. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at $848,464.27. The trade was a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of FRME stock opened at $36.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.93. First Merchants Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.13 and a 52-week high of $43.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.54.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.