Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $1.39 Million Investment in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,392,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Mercantile Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 16,423 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 35.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 21,411 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 287,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,790,000 after buying an additional 40,055 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 3.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,646,000. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Mercantile Bank stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.70. 5,557 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 64,673. The stock has a market cap of $709.47 million, a P/E ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Mercantile Bank Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.61 and a fifty-two week high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $57.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.57 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total transaction of $50,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,810 shares in the company, valued at $593,098.20. This trade represents a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,750 shares of company stock worth $83,745 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MBWM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hovde Group raised shares of Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $47.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd.

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.