DA Davidson Issues Positive Forecast for Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Stock Price

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) had its price objective hoisted by DA Davidson from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Meridian Bank Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Meridian Bank stock opened at $14.87 on Tuesday. Meridian Bank has a 1 year low of $10.04 and a 1 year high of $17.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.21. The company has a market capitalization of $167.73 million, a P/E ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.07. Meridian Bank had a return on equity of 10.73% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $32.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.65 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Meridian Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Meridian Bank’s payout ratio is currently 31.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Casciato purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.79 per share, with a total value of $27,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 215,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,970,310.84. This trade represents a 0.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 3,208 shares of company stock worth $44,416. Company insiders own 14.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Meridian Bank by 114.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 83,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 44,332 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Meridian Bank by 75.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 122,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 52,500 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 178.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 41,984 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meridian Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 33,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

Meridian Bank Company Profile

Meridian Corporation operates as the holding company for Meridian Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. The company offers various deposit products, such as demand non-interest bearing, demand interest bearing, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits.