Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Holdings in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 39.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,744 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 14,268 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in First Merchants were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in First Merchants by 169.3% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 261,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,031,000 after acquiring an additional 164,664 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,109,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 941.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,362,000 after purchasing an additional 97,504 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,749,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in First Merchants in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,222,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research lowered First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.00.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.13 and a 52 week high of $45.62.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.02%.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.