Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 4,203 Shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,203 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned about 0.09% of Mercantile Bank worth $663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 56.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 3,742 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the first quarter valued at about $460,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 184.5% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 13,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 9,010 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 16.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,017,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,182,000 after acquiring an additional 147,299 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the first quarter valued at about $560,000. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Nelson F. Sanchez purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was 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 represents a 39.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mercantile Bank Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM opened at $45.46 on Thursday. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.76 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The company has a market cap of $738.68 million, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.81.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.33 million. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is currently 28.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MBWM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target (down from $55.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mercantile Bank 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.