Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 36,184 Shares of Merchants Bancorp $MBIN

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its Merchants Bancorp stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 36,184 more shares and bringing its total holding to 1,414,584 shares valued at about $48.2 million.
• Merchants Bancorp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.25 beating estimates and revenue of $175.25 million slightly topping forecasts.
• The bank also boosted its dividend to $0.11 per share and has an active $100 million share repurchase program, while analysts currently rate the stock a modest Moderate Buy with an average target price of $50.50.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,414,584 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,184 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.08% of Merchants Bancorp worth $48,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 110.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 16.7% during the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 6,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,846 shares of the company's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MBIN. Zacks Research downgraded Merchants Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.50.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBIN opened at $44.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.16. Merchants Bancorp has a 52 week low of $28.75 and a 52 week high of $50.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.05 and a 200 day moving average of $39.51.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $175.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.30 million. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 13.40%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merchants Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Merchants Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Merchants Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 10.73%.

About Merchants Bancorp

Merchants Bancorp NASDAQ: MBIN is the bank holding company for Merchants Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company offers a range of banking services across western and central New York. Merchants Bancorp operates as a full‐service commercial bank, serving small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, families and individuals in its core markets.

The company's primary activities include deposit taking, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, and treasury management services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MBIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.