Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Stock Position Raised by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 389,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,604 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 2.41% of Mercantile Bank worth $17,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the third quarter valued at $89,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the third quarter valued at $202,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $253,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,043.40. This trade represents a 15.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,750 shares of company stock worth $382,695. 3.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MBWM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock 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 Price Performance

MBWM stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.45. The company had a trading volume of 75,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,380. The business has a 50 day moving average of $46.57 and a 200 day moving average of $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 fifty-two week low of $33.46 and a fifty-two week high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.90%.

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.