Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 132.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,239 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Mercantile Bank worth $938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MBWM. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 242.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the period. 626 Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $198,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,951.10. The trade was a 13.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $531,660. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mercantile Bank Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MBWM stock opened at $50.85 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $820.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.99. Mercantile Bank Co. has a twelve month low of $33.46 and a twelve month high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.83 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is 28.92%.

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.