Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 1,902 Shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,902 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.24% of Mercantile Bank worth $1,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at about $133,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the third quarter worth about $202,000. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM opened at $43.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.18. Mercantile Bank Co. has a twelve month low of $33.46 and a twelve month high of $52.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $710.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 0.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total value of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $826,043.40. This trade represents a 15.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock worth $371,910 in the last quarter. 3.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MBWM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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 raised Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Mercantile Bank 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.