PL Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.09 Billion Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 3,889.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,377,823 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,691,490 shares during the quarter. First Merchants comprises about 12.8% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.47% of First Merchants worth $1,092,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,962,000 after acquiring an additional 11,521 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 123.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at about $607,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,854,000 after buying an additional 12,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME stock opened at $42.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.00. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. Equities analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Profile

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.