162,247 First Merchants Corporation $FRME Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,857 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 162,247 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on FRME shares. Stephens upgraded shares of First Merchants to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of FRME opened at $41.07 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.90. First Merchants Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.66 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 17.56%. The company had revenue of $205.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.94 million. Equities analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 45.82%.

First Merchants Profile

First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Its banking roots date to 1893, and its principal subsidiary, First Merchants Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and organizations. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage services, and cash and treasury management. It also provides wealth management and trust services, along with insurance offerings. First Merchants serves customers across Indiana, Michigan and Ohio through its banking network and digital services.