North Star Asset Management Inc. Makes New $21.67 Million Investment in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 377,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,672,000. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned 2.18% of Mercantile Bank at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 23,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 10,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 6.8% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 8,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MBWM. Piper Sandler set a $65.00 target price on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Hovde Group cut Mercantile Bank from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.40.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.2%

Mercantile Bank stock opened at $59.74 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.41. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.75 and a fifty-two week high of $62.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $68.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.81 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 24.75% and a return on equity of 13.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.46%.

About Mercantile Bank

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through its state-chartered subsidiary, the company provides a broad range of financial products and services to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and consumers across West and Central Michigan.

The bank’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside commercial and consumer loan portfolios.