Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $1.26 Million Stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,857 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 824 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.06% of First Merchants worth $1,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 213,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,113,000 after buying an additional 10,206 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,614 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 7.9% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,074 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 204,177 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,797,000 after purchasing an additional 57,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in First Merchants by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 58,820 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 21,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $36.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.14 and a 200 day moving average of $35.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. First Merchants Co. has a 12 month low of $25.70 and a 12 month high of $42.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 1.02.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.35 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 17.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens lowered First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Hovde Group started coverage on First Merchants in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.20.

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.