ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 154,014 Shares of First Merchants Corporation $FRME

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 47.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 169,166 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 154,014 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.29% of First Merchants worth $6,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,105,000. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,297,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in First Merchants by 121.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 98,523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after acquiring an additional 53,953 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 947,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,721,000 after acquiring an additional 73,725 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter valued at $754,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In related news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FRME. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.33.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.2%

First Merchants stock opened at $40.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.86. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.66 and a fifty-two week high of $43.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 42.35%.

First Merchants Profile

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.