12,500 Shares in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in First Merchants Co. ( NASDAQ:FRME – Free Report ) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $499,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 3,889.0% during the 4th quarter.



PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,377,823 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,092,101,000 after buying an additional 26,691,490 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% during the third quarter.

Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,120,000 after acquiring an additional 11,430 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 55.5% during the fourth quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,133,000 after purchasing an additional 332,168 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 1.

3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares during the last quarter.

Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 820,649 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,736,000 after purchasing an additional 19,932 shares during the period.

Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock. First Merchants Price Performance Shares of FRME stock opened at $36.

53 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.15 and its 200 day moving average is $40.

71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.

90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.

14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants Co. has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.

13. First Merchants Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.

35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.

40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.

94%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Raymond James dropped their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.

00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.

00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.

00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.

20. View Our Latest Research Report on First Merchants First Merchants Profile ( Free Report ) 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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