First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $39.45 and traded as high as $41.48. First Merchants shares last traded at $41.19, with a volume of 474,738 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRME has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.33.

First Merchants Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $163.53 million during 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 27,081,812.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,165,871 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $568,417,000 after buying an additional 15,165,815 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew 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 worth $50,756,000 after acquiring an additional 527,545 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 633,668 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,750,000 after acquiring an additional 338,950 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Merchants by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,596,017 shares of the bank’s stock worth $139,272,000 after acquiring an additional 277,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 252.0% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 321,550 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,122,000 after acquiring an additional 230,192 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.