Sapient Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME – Free Report) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,455 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,497 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 4.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 65.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter worth approximately $391,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth $1,447,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.
First Merchants Stock Up 1.5 %
NASDAQ:FRME opened at $37.75 on Tuesday. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $25.70 and a twelve month high of $42.44. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.
First Merchants Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.35%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens downgraded shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.20.
Read Our Latest Report on FRME
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.
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