Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 5.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 52,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,680 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $2,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 805,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,997,000 after buying an additional 21,616 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 530,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,539,000 after buying an additional 8,100 shares during the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 363,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,760,000 after buying an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,530,000 after buying an additional 47,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 260,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,553,000 after buying an additional 34,725 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ MBWM opened at $48.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $783.76 million, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.95. Mercantile Bank Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.46 and a fifty-two week high of $51.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 22.77%. The firm had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.92%.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $198,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,951.10. The trade was a 13.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $227,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $982,306.92. The trade was a 18.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,500 shares of company stock worth $446,960 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

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.