Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Acquires 1,000 Shares of Stock

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Kenneth Thomas Warriner acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.00 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,000. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kenneth Thomas Warriner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 30th, Kenneth Thomas Warriner bought 1,000 shares of Meridian Bank stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.41 per share, for a total transaction of $18,410.00.

Meridian Bank Trading Up 1.0%

Meridian Bank stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.05. The company had a trading volume of 115,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,938. Meridian Bank has a 12-month low of $11.87 and a 12-month high of $21.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 0.67.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $30.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.79 million. Meridian Bank had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 11.68%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meridian Bank will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Meridian Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRBK. Zacks Research downgraded Meridian Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meridian Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Meridian Bank from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price target on Meridian Bank and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Meridian Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Institutional Trading of Meridian Bank

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRBK. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,121,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,721,000 after buying an additional 49,561 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 437,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,695,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 9.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 434,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,229,000 after acquiring an additional 38,719 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meridian Bank by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 213,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Meridian Bank by 99.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 171,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 85,562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

About Meridian Bank

Meridian Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered institution founded in 1993 and headquartered in Philadelphia, operates as a full-service community bank serving the Greater Philadelphia region. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Meridian Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: MRBK), the bank maintains a network of branch locations complemented by online and mobile platforms to meet the evolving needs of individual and business customers.

On the consumer side, Meridian Bank offers a comprehensive suite of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside personal lending solutions such as home equity lines of credit, residential mortgage loans and unsecured consumer loans.