Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Purchases $27,580.00 in Stock

Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) Director Robert M. Casciato purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.79 per share, for a total transaction of $27,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 215,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,970,310.84. This trade represents a 0.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Meridian Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MRBK traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 35,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,046. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.70 and a 200-day moving average of $14.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.68 million, a P/E ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.71. Meridian Co. has a 12-month low of $9.49 and a 12-month high of $17.33.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.12). Meridian had a return on equity of 10.01% and a net margin of 8.28%. The company had revenue of $27.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.93 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meridian Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Meridian Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Meridian's payout ratio is 35.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Meridian from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Meridian from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meridian

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRBK. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in Meridian by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 432,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Meridian by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 210,758 shares of the company's stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 12,984 shares during the period. Truffle Hound Capital LLC bought a new position in Meridian in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,742,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Meridian by 114.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 83,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 44,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Meridian by 113.9% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 79,065 shares of the company's stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 42,106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.56% of the company's stock.

About Meridian

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.