State Street Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

State Street Corp reduced its position in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438,524 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,432 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 2.72% of Mercantile Bank worth $19,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 108.7% in the 2nd 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 18.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,530,000 after buying an additional 47,528 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 260,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,553,000 after acquiring an additional 34,725 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 20,465 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 55,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,417,000 after acquiring an additional 17,649 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.39. 42,250 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 69,135. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $33.46 and a 1 year high of $52.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $732.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.57 and a 200 day moving average of $44.44.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $56.83 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Mercantile Bank's payout ratio is 28.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note 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.