Inceptionr LLC Makes New Investment in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,392,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $658,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MBWM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hovde Group upgraded Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,810 shares in the company, valued at $692,709.60. This trade represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $371,910. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM stock opened at $45.57 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $33.46 and a 12 month high of $52.98. The stock has a market cap of $735.77 million, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.22.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 21.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Mercantile Bank 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.