Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 17,921 Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,003,206 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,921 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in First Merchants were worth $37,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 511.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $43.48 on Friday. First Merchants Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.20 and a fifty-two week high of $45.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.04 and its 200 day moving average is $36.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.01.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 46.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FRME shares. Hovde Group started coverage on First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Stephens cut shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

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.