First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,477 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,639 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.08% of First Merchants worth $2,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in First Merchants by 108.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in First Merchants by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the third quarter valued at $153,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.62. First Merchants Co. has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Merchants Company 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.