Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 10,934 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 222,066 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 10,934 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $8,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,120,000 after buying an additional 11,430 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 1.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,148 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 15.8% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 682,675 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,396,000 after purchasing an additional 93,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 424,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,778,000 after purchasing an additional 204,736 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $44.67 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.41 and its 200-day moving average is $39.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 1.07.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. Equities research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.