Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 15,228 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 42,020 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after acquiring an additional 4,066 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 2.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 178,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,349 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 5.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,475,053 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,682,000 after purchasing an additional 180,323 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 59.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 58,820 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 21,900 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at First Merchants
In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.
First Merchants Trading Up 1.6 %
First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.
First Merchants Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 46.20%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently issued reports on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.60.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on First Merchants
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.
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