PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,565 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in First Merchants by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,368,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in First Merchants by 123.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $607,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 55.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,133,000 after buying an additional 332,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of 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 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $40.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.05. First Merchants Co. has a 52-week low of $30.55 and a 52-week high of $46.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

First Merchants Company 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.