Larry Myers Sells 10,000 Shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Director Larry Myers sold 10,000 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $41.48. 133,802 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,511. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $43.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.85.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.91 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in First Merchants by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.33.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.