First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Director Larry Myers Sells 10,000 Shares

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Director Larry Myers sold 10,000 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First Merchants Price Performance

First Merchants stock opened at $41.15 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.31. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.66 and a 1 year high of $43.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 43.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in First Merchants by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 98,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after buying an additional 53,953 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 947,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,721,000 after buying an additional 73,725 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in First Merchants by 137.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 37,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after buying an additional 21,486 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in First Merchants by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,756,000 after buying an additional 527,545 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 843,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,788,000 after buying an additional 118,495 shares during the period. 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.