![Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 211,113 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 211,113 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)](https://www.americanbankingnews.com/wp-content/timthumb/timthumb.php?src=https://www.marketbeat.com/logos/first-merchants-co-logo-1200x675.jpg?v=20240509151757&w=240&h=240&zc=2)
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME – Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,074,407 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 211,113 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.18% of First Merchants worth $114,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 92.8% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 106,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,960,000 after buying an additional 51,400 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 97,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after buying an additional 21,632 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 992,748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,618,000 after buying an additional 71,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 335,292 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,328,000 after buying an additional 26,159 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
First Merchants Stock Performance
NASDAQ FRME opened at $34.99 on Tuesday. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $38.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.02.
First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $153.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.95 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 20.15% and a return on equity of 10.21%. Analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
First Merchants Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.19%.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $105,911.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently commented on FRME shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $42.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th.
Read Our Latest Report on First Merchants
First Merchants Profile
(Free Report)
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.
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