27,500 Shares in First Merchants Corporation $FRME Purchased by Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY

Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 27,500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,201,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,365,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at $280,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at $1,209,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth $27,195,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth $2,972,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

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

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $41.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.84. First Merchants Corporation has a 12 month low of $34.66 and a 12 month high of $45.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.95 and a 200-day moving average of $40.98.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.