Zhang Financial LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Zhang Financial LLC lessened its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,258 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,335 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 266,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,890,000 after purchasing an additional 4,845 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $369,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of FRME opened at $34.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $24.52 and a 1 year high of $38.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.84. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 1.08.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. First Merchants had a net margin of 22.39% and a return on equity of 10.97%. The business had revenue of $156.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.50 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th.

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.