Insider Buying: Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Acquires 1,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Meridian director Kenneth Thomas Warriner purchased 1,000 shares at $18.41 each on April 30, a $18,410 buy that doubled his stake to 2,000 shares (100% increase), disclosed in an SEC filing.
• The bank missed quarterly estimates, reporting $0.39 EPS vs. $0.48 expected and $30.24M revenue vs. $31.79M consensus, while showing a net margin of 11.68% and ROE of 12.81%.
• Meridian declared a $0.14 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.56, 3.0% yield) with ex-dividend on May 4, and analysts hold a consensus "Buy" rating with a $22.50 target.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) Director Kenneth Thomas Warriner purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.41 per share, with a total value of $18,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,820. This represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Meridian Bank Stock Up 2.4%

MRBK stock traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.82. The company had a trading volume of 195,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,862. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.79. The company has a market capitalization of $223.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 0.75. Meridian Bank has a 52 week low of $11.16 and a 52 week high of $21.67.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $30.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.79 million. Meridian Bank had a net margin of 11.68% and a return on equity of 12.81%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meridian Bank will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Meridian Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRBK shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Meridian Bank in a research note on Friday, March 27th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Meridian Bank from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Meridian Bank in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Meridian Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Meridian Bank currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Institutional Trading of Meridian Bank

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,121,775 shares of the company's stock worth $19,721,000 after buying an additional 49,561 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 437,696 shares of the company's stock worth $7,695,000 after buying an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 395,283 shares of the company's stock worth $6,949,000 after buying an additional 33,357 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 213,117 shares of the company's stock worth $3,747,000 after buying an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 171,765 shares of the company's stock worth $2,712,000 after buying an additional 85,562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.56% of the company's stock.

About Meridian Bank

Meridian Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered institution founded in 1993 and headquartered in Philadelphia, operates as a full-service community bank serving the Greater Philadelphia region. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Meridian Bancorp, Inc NASDAQ: MRBK, the bank maintains a network of branch locations complemented by online and mobile platforms to meet the evolving needs of individual and business customers.

On the consumer side, Meridian Bank offers a comprehensive suite of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside personal lending solutions such as home equity lines of credit, residential mortgage loans and unsecured consumer loans.

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