Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Nelson Sanchez Purchases 1,000 Shares

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Director Nelson Sanchez bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $43.50 per share, for a total transaction of $43,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $152,337. This trade represents a 39.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Mercantile Bank stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.07. 73,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 67,206. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.76 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $716.09 million, a PE ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.87.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.08. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.05% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $65.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.33 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MBWM. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Mercantile Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 116.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the first quarter worth $39,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Mercantile Bank in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mercantile Bank during the second quarter valued at $54,000. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MBWM shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (down from $55.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

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.