First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Holdings Reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 696,055 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,241 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $25,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 108.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the third quarter valued at $89,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $38.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.49. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13. 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, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 46.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on 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 increased their price target on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other 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 value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.