First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Sold by Peregrine Capital Management LLC

Peregrine Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,255 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 11,669 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of First Merchants worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,502 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 249.6% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 11,078 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 7,909 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the first quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the first quarter valued at approximately $489,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $44.29 on Thursday. First Merchants Corporation has a twelve month low of $34.66 and a twelve month high of $44.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Merchants news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

First Merchants 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.