JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 691,565 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,400 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.20% of First Merchants worth $26,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FRME. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,815,000 after buying an additional 6,924 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 2.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,127,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,965 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 2.0% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 760,551 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,129,000 after purchasing an additional 15,143 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 7.6% in the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 397,123 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,210,000 after purchasing an additional 28,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 345,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,236,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Down 4.8%

FRME stock opened at $39.08 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.93. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $44.33.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FRME. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.75.

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.