23,249 Shares in Meridian Bank $MRBK Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new stake in Meridian Bank, purchasing 23,249 shares valued at approximately $335,000, which represents about 0.21% ownership.
• DA Davidson has raised its price target for Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $19.00, maintaining a "buy" rating, while the stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $17.50.
• Meridian Bank has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 31.06%.

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $335,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.21% of Meridian Bank as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Meridian Bank by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,899 shares of the company's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,803 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Meridian Bank by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meridian Bank by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 18,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 4,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Meridian Bank by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 210,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 12,984 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson upped 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Meridian Bank Trading Up 2.4%

MRBK stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $15.52. 165,705 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,045. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $14.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.98. Meridian Bank has a one year low of $11.16 and a one year high of $17.33. The company has a market cap of $175.38 million, a PE ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $32.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.65 million. Meridian Bank had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 9.01%. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Meridian Bank's payout ratio is 31.06%.

Meridian Bank Profile

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.