Denali Advisors LLC Buys 24,600 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 205,200 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 24,600 shares during the quarter. First Merchants comprises approximately 0.9% of Denali Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $7,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new position in First Merchants in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in First Merchants in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.33.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.41 on Friday. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $34.66 and a one year high of $43.22. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $201.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 42.35%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants 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.