First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Outperform Rating at Raymond James

Raymond James reiterated their outperform rating on shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price target of $42.00.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on FRME. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $44.44 on Friday. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.35.

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%. Equities research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% in the third 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. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Company 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.