Inspire Investing LLC Sells 1,022 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,055 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,022 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in First Merchants by 78.9% during the third 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 bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 3rd quarter valued at $89,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $40.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.06. First Merchants Co. has a 1-year low of $30.55 and a 1-year high of $46.13. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 46.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler cut 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.