Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 24,000 Shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its stake in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 472,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 2.73% of Mercantile Bank worth $23,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 251.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 3,128 shares during the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 0.2%

MBWM stock opened at $60.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.07. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.75 and a fifty-two week high of $61.83.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $68.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.81 million. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 24.75%. On average, research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MBWM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Friday, June 12th. Hovde Group lowered Mercantile Bank from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $65.00 target price on Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mercantile Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.40.

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.