AlphaQuest LLC Buys 16,051 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 72,395 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,051 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $2,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in First Merchants by 27,081,812.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,165,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $568,417,000 after acquiring an additional 15,165,815 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 64.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,756,000 after purchasing an additional 527,545 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter worth $11,111,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 252.0% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 321,550 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,122,000 after purchasing an additional 230,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 169.3% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 261,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,031,000 after purchasing an additional 164,664 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ FRME opened at $40.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $39.58 and its 200-day moving average is $38.87. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $34.66 and a one year high of $43.22.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FRME. Weiss Ratings cut First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants 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.