Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 56.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,658 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Mercantile Bank by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $133,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth $243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $47.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Shares of Mercantile Bank stock traded up $0.39 on Monday, hitting $42.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,637. The company has a market capitalization of $685.60 million, a P/E ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.86. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 52-week low of $35.61 and a 52-week high of $52.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The company had revenue of $57.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.57 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total transaction of $50,220.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $593,098.20. This trade represents a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,750 shares of company stock valued at $84,795. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.