Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Shares Bought by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,568 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $2,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 12,712.5% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 8,136 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,392,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Mercantile Bank by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter worth $658,000. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $371,910. Company insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM stock opened at $44.48 on Wednesday. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 52-week low of $33.46 and a 52-week high of $52.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $721.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.16.

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

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MBWM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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.

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.