OLD National Bancorp IN Acquires 1,380 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,584 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN owned approximately 0.07% of First Merchants worth $1,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 21,889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in First Merchants by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 131,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $33.99 on Tuesday. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $24.52 and a 1 year high of $38.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.87. First Merchants had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 22.39%. The firm had revenue of $156.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.50 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About First Merchants

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.