First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 1st, 2026

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $44.47 and last traded at $44.2730, with a volume of 33162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FRME shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on First Merchants

First Merchants Trading Up 1.8%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.85.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 99,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,139,666.50. This represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 27,081,812.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,165,871 shares of the bank’s stock worth $568,417,000 after buying an additional 15,165,815 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 64.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,756,000 after acquiring an additional 527,545 shares during the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 633,668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,750,000 after acquiring an additional 338,950 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 8.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,596,017 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $139,272,000 after acquiring an additional 277,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 252.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 321,550 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,122,000 after purchasing an additional 230,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

About First Merchants

(Get Free Report)

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.