First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 625,200 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the June 30th total of 501,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 248,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Patrick J. Fehring sold 23,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.51, for a total transaction of $778,159.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 122,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,989,172.06. 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 company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in First Merchants by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
View Our Latest Stock Report on FRME
First Merchants Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.43. 102,888 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,252. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $25.70 and a 12 month high of $42.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.
First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.10). First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 17.77%. The firm had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. Research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.
First Merchants Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 40.35%.
First Merchants Company 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.
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