Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Robert B. Kaminski Sells 3,000 Shares

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total value of $147,420.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,810 shares in the company, valued at $826,043.40. The trade was a 15.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM traded down $1.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $48.73. The company had a trading volume of 79,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,092. Mercantile Bank Co. has a one year low of $33.46 and a one year high of $52.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $786.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.01.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. On average, research analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is presently 29.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MBWM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Mercantile Bank by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 0.5% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 75,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 5,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.