Sanctuary Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,526 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 867 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of First Merchants worth $1,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,962,000 after acquiring an additional 11,521 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp grew its position in First Merchants by 457.3% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,370,000 after buying an additional 477,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME opened at $40.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.68. First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.60.

First Merchants 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.