First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of FRME traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 211,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,867. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.79 and its 200-day moving average is $32.66. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $24.52 and a 52-week high of $38.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.87. The firm had revenue of $156.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.50 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 22.39% and a return on equity of 10.97%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,070 shares in the company, valued at $798,401.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 106,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 51,400 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 7.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 992,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,618,000 after purchasing an additional 71,527 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in First Merchants by 8.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 335,292 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,328,000 after purchasing an additional 26,159 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 131.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,131,000 after purchasing an additional 104,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 5.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 639,673 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,796,000 after purchasing an additional 35,795 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently 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.