Cetera Investment Advisers Has $269,000 Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its stake in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 13.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,643 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in First Merchants were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRME. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 100.4% in the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 247,024 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,984,000 after buying an additional 123,738 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 689,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,506,000 after purchasing an additional 108,929 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 749,055 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,880,000 after acquiring an additional 66,380 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 626,508 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,991,000 after acquiring an additional 43,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 281,626 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,234,000 after acquiring an additional 41,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.3%

FRME stock opened at $39.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.88 and its 200-day moving average is $39.18. First Merchants Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.25.

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.