Fisher Asset Management LLC Has $16.66 Million Stock Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 447,785 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 12,893 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.76% of First Merchants worth $16,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FRME. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,433 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,614 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,616 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,074 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $43.96 on Thursday. First Merchants Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.25 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.73.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Stephens cut shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.60.

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.