Insider Selling: Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Sells 250 Shares of Stock

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 250 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.14, for a total transaction of $10,785.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 78,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,375,101.04. This trade represents a 0.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ MBWM opened at $39.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $640.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.86. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $33.46 and a 1 year high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 28,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 10,979 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 30,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $102,000. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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.