North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $18.02 Million Stock Holdings in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 374,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,204 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mercantile Bank were worth $18,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MBWM. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 5.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 68,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,989,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 21.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 92,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,998,000 after purchasing an additional 16,092 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 4.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 21.0% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MBWM shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mercantile Bank to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercantile Bank presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.20.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM opened at $52.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $901.49 million, a P/E ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.14. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a 1 year low of $42.17 and a 1 year high of $55.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, 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, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $67.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.41 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 24.19% and a return on equity of 13.73%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.01%.

Mercantile Bank Profile

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.