Eva Scurlock Sells 3,227 Shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) insider Eva Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 313,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,967. First Merchants Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $45.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.94.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 21.49%.The firm had revenue of $178.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth $50,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.75.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.