Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Trims Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 4.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,967 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.05. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.31 and a 200 day moving average of $37.74.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 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 business had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on FRME. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.