Banc Funds Co. LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)

Banc Funds Co. LLC lowered its position in shares of Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61,395 shares during the period. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned 1.51% of Mercantile Bank worth $10,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,774,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 286,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,756,000 after buying an additional 10,081 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth $1,392,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 40,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

Shares of MBWM stock opened at $40.31 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $44.70 and a 200 day moving average of $45.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.86. Mercantile Bank Co. has a 52 week low of $33.46 and a 52 week high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $692,709.60. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 7,750 shares of company stock valued at $382,695 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MBWM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hovde Group upgraded Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

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.