PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $840,000 Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,649 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 552 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in First Merchants by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,405 shares of the bank’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $31.93 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. First Merchants Co. has a one year low of $25.70 and a one year high of $38.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.07.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The firm had revenue of $153.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.95 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. StockNews.com raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $42.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patrick J. Fehring sold 23,936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.51, for a total value of $778,159.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 122,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,989,172.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.