Trexquant Investment LP Invests $335,000 in Meridian Bank $MRBK

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 stake in shares of Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $335,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.21% of Meridian Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 4th quarter worth about $186,000. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 18,347 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 4,129 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Meridian Bank by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,452 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Meridian Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Meridian Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $310,000. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meridian Bank Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRBK traded up $0.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,479. Meridian Bank has a fifty-two week low of $11.16 and a fifty-two week high of $17.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $14.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.98. The stock has a market cap of $175.55 million, a P/E ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 0.75.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.07. Meridian Bank had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The firm had revenue of $32.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.65 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid 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 was Monday, August 11th. Meridian Bank's dividend payout ratio is 31.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.