Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Takes $629,000 Position in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. has acquired a $629,000 position in Mercantile Bank Corporation, purchasing 14,470 shares of the company's stock in the 1st quarter.
• Mercantile Bank has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.38, up from $0.37, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.1% for investors.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Mercantile Bank, with Piper Sandler raising their target to $56.00 and Raymond James upgrading the stock to an "outperform" rating.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $629,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned 0.09% of Mercantile Bank at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,447 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 44,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 28,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 10,979 shares during the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $49.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $803.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 0.92. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a 1-year low of $37.76 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $47.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $60.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.02 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 13.52%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.

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