First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Insider Eva Scurlock Sells 3,227 Shares of Stock

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) insider Eva 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 transaction of $136,469.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $848,464.27. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $42.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.30. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.13 and a fifty-two week high of $45.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.89 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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 reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.75.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.