Convergence Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,259 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $947,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the third quarter valued at $2,105,000. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,297,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its stake in First Merchants by 121.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 98,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,714,000 after buying an additional 53,953 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in First Merchants by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 947,498 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,721,000 after buying an additional 73,725 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in First Merchants in the 3rd quarter worth about $754,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FRME. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.33.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $39.10 on Friday. First Merchants Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $34.66 and a fifty-two week high of $43.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.65.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.91 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.