First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock Position Raised by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 121,969 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 9,679 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $4,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in First Merchants by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,368,000 after buying an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. City Center Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth $219,000. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at $607,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $35.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Merchants Co. has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.57.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.23 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James decreased their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

About First Merchants

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.