Robert B. Kaminski Sells 250 Shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Stock

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.05, for a total transaction of $11,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 86,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,080,646.50. This trade represents a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 1.9 %

MBWM stock opened at $48.67 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.68. The company has a market capitalization of $786.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 1.00. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 52 week low of $33.46 and a 52 week high of $52.98. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,646,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 40,055 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 35.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,601,000 after buying an additional 21,411 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 46.9% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 55,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,417,000 after buying an additional 17,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 16,423 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.