First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC cut its holdings in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 5.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 223,027 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 14,002 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $8,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $43.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.84. First Merchants Corporation has a 1-year low of $34.66 and a 1-year high of $45.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 17.05%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.44%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

First Merchants Company 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.