Connable Office Inc. Sells 626 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Connable Office Inc. lowered its stake in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,031 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 626 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 511.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of FRME stock opened at $43.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 1.01. First Merchants Co. has a 52-week low of $30.20 and a 52-week high of $45.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.78 and its 200 day moving average is $36.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 46.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on FRME shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lowered First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.60.

First Merchants Profile

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.