This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Mercantile Bank
Michael Price, Independent Chairman of Mercantile Bank, sold US$210k worth of shares, representing 9% of his holdings, at US$45.84 each. This follows a previous sale of US$308k at US$48.41 per share. Over the past year, insiders sold more shares than they bought, with insider ownership at 3.3%. Despite Mercantile Bank's profitability, the trend of insider selling suggests caution for potential investors.
Anyone interested in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) should probably be aware that the Independent Chairman, Michael Price, recently divested US$210k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$45.84 each. On the bright side, that sale was only 9.0% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.
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Mercantile Bank Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent sale by Independent Chairman Michael Price was not their only sale of Mercantile Bank shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$308k worth of shares at a price of US$48.41 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$43.74. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 4.80k shares for US$224k. But they sold 24.85k shares for US$1.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Mercantile Bank than they bought, over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
View our latest analysis for Mercantile Bank
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Does Mercantile Bank Boast High Insider Ownership?
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 3.3% of Mercantile Bank shares, worth about US$23m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Mercantile Bank Insiders?
The stark truth for Mercantile Bank is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Mercantile Bank makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Mercantile Bank, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course Mercantile Bank may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
