Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Invests $1.54 Million in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 35,196 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,538,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of First Merchants as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FRME. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in First Merchants by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings raised First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $43.70 on Monday. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.84.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.78 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.44%.

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.