Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,148,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,821 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 7.12% of Mercantile Bank worth $46,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MBWM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Mercantile Bank by 9.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Mercantile Bank by 8.1% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Mercantile Bank by 2.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 25,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 0.3% in the second quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 248,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,081,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $227,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $982,306.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total transaction of $96,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,576.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $227,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $982,306.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $490,933 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.4 %

MBWM stock opened at $42.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $686.11 million, a P/E ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.96. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 52 week low of $30.12 and a 52 week high of $51.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.99% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The business had revenue of $88.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 27.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $42.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target (up from $47.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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.