Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 2,680 Shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Mercantile Bank worth $2,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 5,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 11,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523 shares in the last quarter. 626 Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 4,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $48.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $783.76 million, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.66. Mercantile Bank Co. has a one year low of $33.46 and a one year high of $51.31.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 22.77%. The business had revenue of $93.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is 28.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $227,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,556 shares in the company, valued at $982,306.92. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was 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 owns 25,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,951.10. This trade represents a 13.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,500 shares of company stock worth $446,960 over the last 90 days. 3.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.