Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 116,095 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $5,072,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.18% of First Merchants at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 361.7% in the 2nd 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 stake in 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 purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FRME. Weiss Ratings raised First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

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

First Merchants Stock Down 2.8%

FRME stock opened at $42.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.95. First Merchants Corporation has a one year low of $34.66 and a one year high of $45.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 17.05%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 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.