Credit Agricole S A Buys 9,622 Shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in Mercantile Bank Corporation by 75.1%, acquiring an additional 9,622 shares, resulting in ownership of 22,442 shares valued at approximately $975,000.
• Mercantile Bank recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.38 per share, with an annual yield of 3.1%, highlighting its stable financial performance.
• Analysts have set a new price target for Mercantile Bank at $55.25, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with several firms upgrading their ratings recently.

Credit Agricole S A boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 75.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,622 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A owned 0.14% of Mercantile Bank worth $975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MBWM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $44,182,000 after buying an additional 147,299 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the first quarter valued at about $3,209,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 132,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,907,000 after purchasing an additional 46,559 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew 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 worth $13,965,000 after purchasing an additional 34,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.9%

MBWM traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,850. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $52.98. The stock's 50-day moving average is $47.43 and its 200-day moving average is $45.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $800.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $60.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.02 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mercantile Bank has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.25.

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.