Peregrine Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 152,449 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,331 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $6,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in First Merchants by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in First Merchants by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $44.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.07. 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 one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of First Merchants 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 sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants 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.