Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,589 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.08% of First Merchants worth $1,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in First Merchants by 67.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in First Merchants by 123.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $607,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,133,000 after buying an additional 332,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME opened at $41.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.05. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Equities analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.94%.

About First Merchants

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.