American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 30th, 2023

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME – Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 900,878 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 121,905 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.51% of First Merchants worth $29,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 42.0% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth about $74,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $99,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. 70.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $29.65 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.23 and its 200 day moving average is $31.45. First Merchants Co. has a 52 week low of $24.52 and a 52 week high of $45.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 1.08.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $247.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.80 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 29.25% and a return on equity of 12.93%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 31.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on FRME. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of First Merchants from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on First Merchants from $38.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 27th.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FRME

First Merchants Profile

(Free Report)

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company accepts time, savings, and demand deposits; and provides consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans. It also offers personal and corporate trust; brokerage and private wealth management; and letters of credit, repurchase agreements, and other corporate services.