Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,901 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 355 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $1,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 139.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter valued at about $89,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $43.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.26. First Merchants Co. has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FRME shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Merchants 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.