Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 410 Shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Mercantile Bank worth $781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 3.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 0.5% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 75,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 1.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 40,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

MBWM opened at $44.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.14. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 1 year low of $33.46 and a 1 year high of $52.98. The company has a market capitalization of $722.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 21.99%. Equities analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MBWM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hovde Group raised Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 1,000 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total value of $50,220.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,098.20. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $371,910. 3.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.