SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,226 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,070 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.09% of First Merchants worth $1,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FRME. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in First Merchants by 9.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 2.6% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% during 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 in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $39.43 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.40 and a 200 day moving average of $38.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.88. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.13 and a 52 week high of $43.22.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 21.49%.The business had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $848,464.27. The trade was a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FRME. Piper Sandler boosted their price target 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 upgraded First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.33.

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.