American Century Companies Inc. Takes Position in Meridian Bank $MRBK

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has acquired a new stake in Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK), purchasing 21,553 shares valued at approximately $310,000 during the first quarter of 2023.
• Meridian Bank recently reported earnings of $0.49 per share, beating analyst expectations and generating revenue of $32.45 million for the quarter.
• DA Davidson has increased their price target for Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $19.00 and assigned a "buy" rating, indicating positive sentiment on the stock.

American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $310,000. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.19% of Meridian Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $186,000. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 18,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 4,129 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $322,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 2,614.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,143 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 26,143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meridian Bank presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Meridian Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ MRBK traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,201. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.62 million, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.75 and a 200 day moving average of $13.98. Meridian Bank has a one year low of $10.89 and a one year high of $17.33.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $32.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.65 million. Meridian Bank had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 9.01%. Analysts expect that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Meridian Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.06%.

About Meridian Bank

Meridian Corporation operates as the holding company for Meridian Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. The company offers various deposit products, such as demand non-interest bearing, demand interest bearing, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits.