First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target Raised to $52.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) had its target price increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $50.00 to $52.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on FRME. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $44.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.37 and a 200-day moving average of $39.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.06.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted 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 return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 46.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in First Merchants in the third quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Merchants

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.