Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 10,041 First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)

Natixis Advisors LLC has made a notable investment by acquiring 10,041 shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) during the third quarter of 2024. The purchased shares are estimated to be worth around $374,000, indicating a significant stake in the financial institution.

In addition to Natixis Advisors, several other institutional investors have shown interest in First Merchants. For instance, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. from Illinois established a new position in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Similarly, Quest Partners LLC acquired shares worth $45,000 during the same time period. Moreover, CWM LLC boosted its holdings by a remarkable 511.5% during the second quarter, now owning 1,920 shares valued at $64,000 after adding an additional 1,606 shares recently. In the third quarter, Blue Trust Inc. also enhanced its stake by 78.9%, bringing its total to 1,893 shares worth $70,000 after purchasing another 835 shares. Lastly, Innealta Capital LLC entered the picture by acquiring shares valued at $79,000 in the second quarter.

Analyst Ratings for First Merchants

Several equity analysts have provided insights regarding First Merchants Co. Recently, Stephens downgraded the company from an “overweight” to an “equal weight” rating, reducing the price target from $45.00 to $38.00. In another report, Piper Sandler adjusted its price target from $50.00 to $47.00, maintaining an “overweight” rating. Additionally, the Hovde Group assigned a “market perform” rating with a target price of $38.00. Meanwhile, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating while setting a price objective of $45.00. Currently, three analysts recommend holding the stock while three provide buy ratings. According to MarketBeat, the stock carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $41.60.

Market Performance of First Merchants

As for its market performance, shares of First Merchants opened at $43.96. Currently, the company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has experienced fluctuations over the past year, with a low of $30.25 and a high of $46.13. Financial metrics also show that First Merchants has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages stand at $39.29 and $36.78, respectively.

First Merchants reported its quarterly earnings on October 24, 2024, revealing an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.84, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $0.90. The company achieved a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%, with revenues amounting to $265.95 million.

Dividend Announcement

On another note, First Merchants recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, payable on December 20, 2024, to shareholders on record by December 6. This brings the annualized dividend yield to 3.18%, while the current dividend payout ratio stands at 46.20%.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation operates as the holding company for First Merchants Bank, offering a variety of community banking services. The bank is involved in providing a range of financial products, including time, savings, and demand deposits, as well as different types of loans including consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.

investment, acquisition, stock