AQR Capital Management LLC Has $7.07 Million Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,802 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $7,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 18.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,530,000 after purchasing an additional 47,528 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 34,725 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 805,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,997,000 after acquiring an additional 21,616 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 29,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 20,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the first quarter worth approximately $452,000. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MBWM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $42.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $96,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,576.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.73, for a total value of $146,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,540,355.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $96,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,576.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $491,418. 3.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 0.0 %

MBWM opened at $41.28 on Friday. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 1-year low of $30.12 and a 1-year high of $51.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.25 and a 200-day moving average of $40.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $665.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.99% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $88.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.91%.

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.