5,083 Shares in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Bought by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,083 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in First Merchants by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in First Merchants by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth about $153,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of FRME stock opened at $40.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.11 and its 200-day moving average is $40.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 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.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.