First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Hits New 52-Week High at $40.21

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $40.21 and last traded at $40.17, with a volume of 47764 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $42.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

First Merchants Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.04.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $154.95 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patrick J. Fehring sold 23,936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.51, for a total transaction of $778,159.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 122,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,989,172.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. rhino investment partners Inc acquired a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $8,572,000. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 92.8% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 106,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,960,000 after acquiring an additional 51,400 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in First Merchants by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 97,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after acquiring an additional 21,632 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 21.0% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 154,379 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after acquiring an additional 26,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 40.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 184,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,452,000 after acquiring an additional 53,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.