Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $391,000 Holdings in Meridian Bank $MRBK

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Meridian Bank, buying an additional 26,143 shares, raising its ownership to 27,143 shares worth approximately $391,000.
• Analysts have set a new price target for Meridian Bank at $19.00, with the stock currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $17.50.
• Meridian Bank recently reported earnings of $0.49 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.42, alongside a quarterly dividend yielding 3.2%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Free Report) by 2,614.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,143 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,143 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.24% of Meridian Bank worth $391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $186,000. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 holdings 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $395,000. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Meridian Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRBK traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,738. Meridian Bank has a 52 week low of $10.89 and a 52 week high of $17.33. The firm has a market cap of $177.47 million, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Meridian Bank Announces Dividend

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