First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Sets New 12-Month High at $38.29

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $38.29 and last traded at $38.11, with a volume of 75661 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRME has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $42.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th.

First Merchants Stock Up 4.4 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 10.21%. The company had revenue of $153.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.95 million. Analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 40.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Merchants news, Director Patrick J. Fehring sold 23,936 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.51, for a total value of $778,159.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 122,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,989,172.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FRME. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.