Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Stake Increased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,423 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.20% of Mercantile Bank worth $1,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 108.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 90,802 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Mercantile Bank by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,530,000 after buying an additional 47,528 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 260,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,553,000 after buying an additional 34,725 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 218.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP boosted 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 acquiring an additional 17,649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 5,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $300,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,025,167.50. This represents a 22.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $531,660 in the last three months. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ:MBWM traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.78. 45,694 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 68,917. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.63. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 1-year low of $33.46 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $722.84 million, a PE ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.