Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 1,080 Shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,080 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Mercantile Bank worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,484,000 after buying an additional 14,202 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 132.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 12,239 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,601,000 after buying an additional 21,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 14,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,810 shares in the company, valued at $692,709.60. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock worth $372,283 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM opened at $48.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $778.40 million, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.00. 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 1-year low of $33.46 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.08.

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

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.