Piper Sandler Boosts First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target to $50.00

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) had its target price increased by Piper Sandler from $41.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on FRME. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded First Merchants from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $45.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $38.65 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.41 and a 200 day moving average of $34.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.04. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $25.70 and a 12 month high of $42.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.35 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 9.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.35%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 122,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,989,172.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,433 shares of the bank’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in First Merchants by 2.0% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 157,494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in First Merchants by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 457.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,370,000 after purchasing an additional 477,462 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.