Banc Funds Co. LLC Increases Position in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN)

Banc Funds Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 389,615 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the quarter. Merchants Bancorp makes up approximately 1.9% of Banc Funds Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned approximately 0.85% of Merchants Bancorp worth $17,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MBIN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,022,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,465,000 after acquiring an additional 94,781 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 994,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,962,000 after acquiring an additional 24,122 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 143.1% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 490,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,039,000 after purchasing an additional 288,553 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Merchants Bancorp by 23.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 370,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,010,000 after purchasing an additional 69,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 6,793.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 365,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,809,000 after purchasing an additional 359,991 shares during the period. 24.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $41.28 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.03 and a 200-day moving average of $42.60. Merchants Bancorp has a 52-week low of $33.05 and a 52-week high of $53.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $355.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.13 million. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 21.33% and a return on equity of 22.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.74 EPS for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 5.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Patrick D. O’brien purchased 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $1,000,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,000,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 39.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MBIN. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Merchants Bancorp from $48.00 to $52.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company.

About Merchants Bancorp

Merchants Bancorp operates as the diversified bank holding company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Multi-family Mortgage Banking, Mortgage Warehousing, and Banking. The Multi-family Mortgage Banking segment engages in the mortgage banking, which originates and services government sponsored mortgages, including bridge financing products to refinance, acquire, or reposition multi-family housing projects, and construction lending for multi-family and healthcare facilities.