Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Mercantile Bank Corporation by 16.9%, owning approximately 6.26% of the company worth around $44.2 million following the addition of over 147,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Mercantile Bank recently reported earnings per share of $1.39, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a dividend increase to $0.38 per share, marking a yield of 3.1%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Mercantile Bank, with an average price target of $55.25 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,017,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 147,299 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 6.26% of Mercantile Bank worth $44,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MBWM. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 40,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,392,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,774,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercantile Bank presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.25.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

Shares of MBWM traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.25. 45,554 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,600. The firm has a market capitalization of $800.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a twelve month low of $37.76 and a twelve month high of $52.98. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $47.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.19.

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

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio is 30.16%.

About Mercantile Bank

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.