Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Sells $150,480.00 in Stock

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $692,709.60. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

MBWM stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.81. The company had a trading volume of 92,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,148. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $33.46 and a 12 month high of $52.98. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.71. The firm has a market cap of $788.28 million, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS 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%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.03%. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBWM. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 3.7% during the third 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 during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 75,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,310,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 3.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MBWM. Hovde Group upgraded Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

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.