Meridian Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCAA) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,184 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Republic Bancorp were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RBCAA. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 4.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 219,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 9,430 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 210,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,816,000 after acquiring an additional 4,429 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 100,794 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,098 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 72,883 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Bancorp by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 64,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Bancorp news, EVP John T. Rippy sold 3,082 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.99, for a total transaction of $203,381.18. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,524,698.95. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Feaster sold 1,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.42, for a total value of $93,386.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,805.26. This trade represents a 24.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 55.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Republic Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Bancorp stock opened at $65.47 on Thursday. Republic Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $46.55 and a one year high of $80.68. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $67.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.29.

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.22). Republic Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.60% and a net margin of 20.05%.

Republic Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.451 per share. This is an increase from Republic Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Republic Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group decreased their target price on Republic Bancorp from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in six segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions.