Tributary Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 287,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,055 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC owned about 1.78% of Mercantile Bank worth $12,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MBWM. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,441,000 after buying an additional 16,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,484,000 after acquiring an additional 14,202 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Mercantile Bank by 132.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 12,239 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 35.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 21,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Mercantile Bank by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 14,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

MBWM stock traded up $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.20. 106,144 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,672. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 52-week low of $33.46 and a 52-week high of $52.98. The stock has a market cap of $794.58 million, a P/E ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average is $46.97 and its 200 day moving average is $45.52.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 21.99%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Mercantile Bank's payout ratio is currently 29.09%.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total transaction of $198,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,951.10. This trade represents a 13.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 10,300 shares of company stock valued at $521,218 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MBWM shares. Hovde Group raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

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.