Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Price Target Raised to $57.00

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) had its price target lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $56.00 to $57.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $49.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.97 and its 200-day moving average is $45.48. Mercantile Bank has a twelve month low of $33.46 and a twelve month high of $52.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $794.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.01.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 29.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $300,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,810 shares in the company, valued at $1,025,167.50. This represents a 22.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,300 shares of company stock worth $521,218. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBWM. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Finally, 626 Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

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.