Inspire Investing LLC Decreases Position in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its holdings in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,126 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,017,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,182,000 after purchasing an additional 147,299 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 426,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,533,000 after purchasing an additional 36,677 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 321,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,965,000 after purchasing an additional 34,776 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 132,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,907,000 after purchasing an additional 46,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 72.7% in the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 131,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,704,000 after purchasing an additional 55,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MBWM shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.25.

Mercantile Bank Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ MBWM opened at $46.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $760.18 million, a PE ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 0.95. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a one year low of $37.76 and a one year high of $52.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.23.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $60.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.02 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 13.52%. Analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

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.