Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 11,430 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,400,821 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 11,430 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.39% of First Merchants worth $52,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in First Merchants by 108.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $79,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FRME shares. Piper Sandler reduced 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 increased their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $40.89 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.31 and its 200 day moving average is $37.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.05. First Merchants Co. has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted 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). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

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.