First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target Raised to $42.50 at Piper Sandler

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $41.00 to $42.50 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on FRME. Raymond James upped their price target on First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Merchants from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd.

First Merchants Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $34.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.24. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $24.52 and a fifty-two week high of $38.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 1.08.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In related news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 106,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,960,000 after acquiring an additional 51,400 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 7.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 8.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 335,292 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,328,000 after buying an additional 26,159 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 131.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 184,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,131,000 after buying an additional 104,675 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.