Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Position in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) by 27,081,812.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,165,871 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,165,815 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.26% of First Merchants worth $568,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in First Merchants by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,815,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in First Merchants by 64.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,756,000 after buying an additional 527,545 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 947,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,721,000 after buying an additional 73,725 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 843,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,788,000 after buying an additional 118,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 691,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,072,000 after buying an additional 13,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $39.10 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.17 and a 200 day moving average of $38.65. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $43.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.86.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.33.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Profile

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.