Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Anthony Mark Imbesi Acquires 1,000 Shares

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Anthony Mark Imbesi purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.38 per share, for a total transaction of $17,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 386,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,711,391.28. This trade represents a 0.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Meridian Bank Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Meridian Bank stock opened at $17.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.69. Meridian Bank has a twelve month low of $11.16 and a twelve month high of $21.67.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $30.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.79 million. Meridian Bank had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 11.68%. Equities research analysts forecast that Meridian Bank will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Meridian Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Meridian Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 27.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRBK. Zacks Research lowered Meridian Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meridian Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price objective on Meridian Bank and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Meridian Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Meridian Bank from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meridian Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $917,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $946,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,996,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meridian Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meridian Bank Company Profile

Meridian Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered institution founded in 1993 and headquartered in Philadelphia, operates as a full-service community bank serving the Greater Philadelphia region. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Meridian Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: MRBK), the bank maintains a network of branch locations complemented by online and mobile platforms to meet the evolving needs of individual and business customers.

On the consumer side, Meridian Bank offers a comprehensive suite of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside personal lending solutions such as home equity lines of credit, residential mortgage loans and unsecured consumer loans.