Inceptionr LLC Invests $497,000 in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,965 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 2.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,127,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,965 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $24,523,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 472,974 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,813 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 49.3% in the first quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 340,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,782,000 after buying an additional 112,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 842.5% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 334,593 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,531,000 after buying an additional 299,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.9%

FRME stock opened at $36.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $45.62. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.83 and a 200-day moving average of $38.32.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 22.04%.The firm had revenue of $172.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.78 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.