Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Bank of Marin Bancorp $BMRC

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. has reduced its stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp by 8.0% during the first quarter, now holding 219,952 shares, making it the second largest holding in their portfolio.
• Bank of Marin Bancorp reported earnings of $0.29 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36, with a significant revenue shortfall, earning $10.29 million compared to the expected $29.07 million.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 with a payout ratio of 232.56% and initiated a $25 million share buyback plan aimed at repurchasing up to 6.5% of its stock.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,952 shares of the bank's stock after selling 19,000 shares during the quarter. Bank of Marin Bancorp accounts for 4.4% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned approximately 1.36% of Bank of Marin Bancorp worth $4,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $2,934,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $1,668,000. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $871,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $839,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Bank of Marin Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $392,000. 52.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BMRC. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Marin Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.25.

Bank of Marin Bancorp Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Bank of Marin Bancorp stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $24.54. 40,491 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 83,003. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.07 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.57. Bank of Marin Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.11 and a 1-year high of $27.11.

Bank of Marin Bancorp (NASDAQ:BMRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $10.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.07 million. Bank of Marin Bancorp had a return on equity of 4.60% and a net margin of 4.43%. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Marin Bancorp will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Marin Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, July 28th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of Marin Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Bank of Marin Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 232.56%.

About Bank of Marin Bancorp

Bank of Marin Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Marin that provides a range of financial services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and commercial real estate investors in the United States. The company offers personal and business checking and savings accounts; and individual retirement, health savings, and demand deposit marketplace accounts, as well as time certificates of deposit, certificate of deposit account registry, and insured cash sweep services.