Merchants Bancorp $MBIN Shares Acquired by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) by 41.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,521 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,030 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC owned about 0.16% of Merchants Bancorp worth $2,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Merchants Bancorp by 135.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,609,000 after acquiring an additional 210,151 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 1,509.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 175,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,589,000 after purchasing an additional 164,834 shares in the last quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,984,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 862,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,415,000 after purchasing an additional 79,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 630,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,036,000 after buying an additional 62,097 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merchants Bancorp from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Merchants Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Merchants Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of MBIN opened at $45.14 on Tuesday. Merchants Bancorp has a 52-week low of $28.75 and a 52-week high of $50.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.09. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The firm had revenue of $175.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $174.30 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This is a positive change from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.73%.

About Merchants Bancorp

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ: MBIN) is the bank holding company for Merchants Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company offers a range of banking services across western and central New York. Merchants Bancorp operates as a full‐service commercial bank, serving small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, families and individuals in its core markets.

The company’s primary activities include deposit taking, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, and treasury management services.