First Merchants Corporation $FRME Holdings Lowered by Glenmede Trust Co. NA

Glenmede Trust Co. NA reduced its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 8.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 238,186 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,535 shares during the quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $9,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FRME. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in First Merchants by 121.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 98,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after purchasing an additional 53,953 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 892.3% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 84,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,255,000 after buying an additional 75,579 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 861,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,385,000 after buying an additional 83,667 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at $1,874,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 8.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,596,017 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $139,272,000 after buying an additional 277,977 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $43.63 on Tuesday. First Merchants Corporation has a 1 year low of $34.66 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 17.05%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.