Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 8.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,596,017 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 277,977 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of First Merchants worth $139,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 361.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $43.18 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.84. First Merchants Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.66 and a 12 month high of $45.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 17.05%.The company had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. Equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 47.44%.

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.