Sapient Capital LLC Decreases Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) 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 (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $267.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.35 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 9.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

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.

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.