Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 14,202 Shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,202 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.34% of Mercantile Bank worth $16,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 29,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 132.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 12,239 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% in the third 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mercantile Bank by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 90,802 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Mercantile Bank by 83.7% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 14,263 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 5,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $300,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,810 shares in the company, valued at $1,025,167.50. This trade represents a 22.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 10,550 shares of company stock worth $531,660 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Mercantile Bank Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Mercantile Bank stock traded down $0.10 on Monday, reaching $44.68. The company had a trading volume of 45,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,822. The firm has a market cap of $721.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $47.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.68. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $33.46 and a 1 year high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.83 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.