Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Mercantile Bank worth $1,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 16.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 147,299 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 9.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 426,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,533,000 after purchasing an additional 36,677 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 4.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 405,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,839,000 after purchasing an additional 17,580 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 12.1% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 73.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,236,000 after purchasing an additional 65,823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MBWM. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mercantile Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Nelson F. Sanchez acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.50 per share, with a total value of $43,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,337. This represents a 39.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mercantile Bank Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Mercantile Bank stock opened at $45.06 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.06. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $52.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $732.41 million, a P/E ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $62.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.33 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.05% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

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

Mercantile Bank 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.