Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 180,323 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,475,053 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 180,323 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.93% of First Merchants worth $115,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. CWM LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 511.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $37.53 on Tuesday. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $25.70 and a twelve month high of $42.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 40.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group began coverage on First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Stephens downgraded First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research note 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.