Barclays PLC Grows Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,290 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 53,033 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.19% of First Merchants worth $4,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in First Merchants by 22.4% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $79,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 2.0% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 157,494 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 1.1% in the second quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,433 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $40.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Co. has a 52-week low of $30.55 and a 52-week high of $46.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.82. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.60.

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.