Deutsche Bank AG Makes New $2.94 Million Investment in First Merchants Corporation $FRME

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 67,265 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,939,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FRME. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 1.0% in the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 28,184 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 24.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in First Merchants by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,424 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.3%

FRME opened at $41.68 on Thursday. First Merchants Corporation has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $45.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.98. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.84.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The firm had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.78 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is 47.44%.

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.