Eva Scurlock Sells 3,227 Shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) insider Eva Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $848,464.27. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $41.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.31. First Merchants Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.13 and a 1-year high of $45.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.68%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 37.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 1.0% during the second quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 27,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in First Merchants by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 11,884 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 25,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key First Merchants News

Here are the key news stories impacting First Merchants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board reinforcement after merger — First Merchants added Larry Myers to its Boards following the Feb. 1 merger with First Savings Bank; Myers brings nearly 20 years of local banking leadership and should help integration and regional strategy. First Merchants Appoints Larry Myers to Its Board of Directors
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend confirmed — the company declared a $0.36 quarterly cash dividend payable March 20, 2026 (record date March 6), supporting yield and income-oriented investor interest. First Merchants Corporation Announces Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest note shows no meaningful data change — a report flagged an increase but the published short-interest figure and days-to-cover read as zero/NaN, so there’s no clear short-pressure signal to interpret at this time.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — director/insider Eva Scurlock sold 3,227 shares (avg. ~$42.29) on Feb. 6, reducing her holding by ~13.9%; while the sale size is modest vs. total outstanding shares, insider selling can weigh on sentiment. Insider Selling: First Merchants Insider Sells 3,227 Shares

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on FRME. Zacks Research lowered First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.75.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.