City Center Advisors LLC Invests $219,000 in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

City Center Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,486 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in First Merchants by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in First Merchants by 123.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 6.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,854,000 after buying an additional 12,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in First Merchants by 10.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This represents 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 accessible through this link. 1.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Merchants Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of FRME stock opened at $38.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.06. First Merchants Co. has a 52-week low of $30.55 and a 52-week high of $46.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.72.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.60.

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.