Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Purchases 1,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Kenneth Warriner bought 1,000 Meridian shares at $16.18 each, a $16,180 purchase that increased his holdings by 32.79% to 4,050 shares.
• Meridian shares fell 1.8% to $16.22 in Friday trading. The company also missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.43 versus $0.46 expected and revenue of $30.14 million versus $33.05 million expected.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $20. Meridian declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to a 3.5% yield at the reported share price.

Meridian Corp (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) Director Kenneth Warriner acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.18 per share, with a total value of $16,180.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,529. This trade represents a 32.79% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Meridian Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of MRBK stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 82,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $193.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $18.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.17. Meridian Corp has a 1-year low of $13.92 and a 1-year high of $21.67.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $30.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.05 million. Meridian had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 11.46%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meridian Corp will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Meridian Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Meridian's payout ratio is 29.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRBK. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meridian in the 3rd quarter valued at $289,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Meridian in the third quarter valued at $938,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Meridian by 15.5% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 60,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Meridian by 103.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 64,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Meridian by 17.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MRBK shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Meridian from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $24.00) on shares of Meridian in a report on Thursday, November 5th. DA Davidson cut Meridian from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Meridian from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meridian currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

About Meridian

Meridian Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Through its principal subsidiary, Meridian Bank, the company provides commercial and community banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals in the Mid-Atlantic region. Meridian Bank offers business lending, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, equipment financing, residential and consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management services and online banking. The company also provides mortgage banking and wealth management services, including investment and financial planning solutions.

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