First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,445 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FRME. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted 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 purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $37.98 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 moving average is $38.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.46. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.02.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. The firm had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FRME shares. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.40.

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.