PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,565 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,601,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $19,014,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth $470,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 731,413 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,176,000 after purchasing an additional 9,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $40.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. On average, research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

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.