Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Sells $12,027.50 in Stock

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total value of $12,027.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 78,486 shares in the company, valued at $3,775,961.46. The trade was a 0.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.1 %

MBWM traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 70,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,109. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $33.46 and a 1 year high of $52.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.80 and its 200-day moving average is $46.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 21.99%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is 29.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,646,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 132,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,907,000 after purchasing an additional 46,559 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 122,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,451,000 after purchasing an additional 40,175 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 287,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,790,000 after buying an additional 40,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter worth about $1,392,000. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MBWM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hovde Group upgraded Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

About Mercantile Bank

Mercantile Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan that provides commercial and retail banking services to small- to medium-sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, and term certificate accounts; time deposits; and certificates of deposit.