First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $43.37 and last traded at $42.9520, with a volume of 19127 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FRME. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.53 and a 200 day moving average of $39.58.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 43.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted 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 worth $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 53,953 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 8.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 947,498 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,721,000 after purchasing an additional 73,725 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in First Merchants by 137.4% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 37,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,486 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 64.4% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 16.4% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 843,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,788,000 after purchasing an additional 118,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

About First Merchants

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.