Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases New Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 81,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,646,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBWM. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 108.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 90,802 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in 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 during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 55,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,417,000 after buying an additional 17,649 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 16,423 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 119.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 16,115 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 5.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM opened at $46.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.36. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 12 month low of $33.46 and a 12 month high of $52.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $754.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.01.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. As a group, analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $198,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,951.10. This represents a 13.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 10,300 shares of company stock worth $521,218 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.