Raymond James Cuts First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target to $46.00

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) had its target price trimmed by Raymond James from $50.00 to $46.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $35.65 on Wednesday. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.06 and a 200-day moving average of $40.70.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its position in First Merchants by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in First Merchants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,101 shares of the bank’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.