Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Has $711,000 Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC cut its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 59.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,812 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,701 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FRME. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 809.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $39.05 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.80 and a 200-day moving average of $40.53. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.02. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.23 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.40.

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.