Inspire Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 71,779 First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 71,779 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRME. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 156.9% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 8,813 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the first quarter valued at about $56,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 13.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 1,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in First Merchants during the first quarter worth about $1,101,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $34.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.40. First Merchants Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.13 and a 52-week high of $46.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 1.10.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $172.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 36.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Raymond James Financial lowered First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.60.

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.