ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 12.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 138,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,292 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $6,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the second quarter worth about $54,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the second quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Nelson F. Sanchez acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were bought 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 owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $152,337. This trade represents a 39.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MBWM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target (down from $55.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.50.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM opened at $45.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $740.37 million, a PE ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.95. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.08. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.05% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $62.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.33 million. On average, research analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.79%.

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.