North Star Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

North Star Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 356,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,790 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $16,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 1.3% during the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 0.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 6.3% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 3,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.50.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM opened at $45.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $732.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.94. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $37.76 and a fifty-two week high of $52.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.06.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $62.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.33 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.05% and a return on equity of 14.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is currently 28.79%.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Nelson F. Sanchez bought 1,000 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $43.50 per share, with a total value of $43,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,337. This trade represents a 39.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.