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

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 31,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,392,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.19% of Mercantile Bank as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Mercantile Bank by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter worth $133,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $243,000. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total transaction of $50,220.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,098.20. This represents a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,750 shares of company stock valued at $83,745 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM traded up $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 44,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,037. Mercantile Bank Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.61 and a fifty-two week high of $52.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $702.65 million, a PE ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. 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 3.42%. Mercantile Bank's payout ratio is 30.71%.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

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.