Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Robert M. Casciato Acquires 2,000 Shares

Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Robert M. Casciato bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.79 per share, with a total value of $27,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 215,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,970,310.84. This represents a 0.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Meridian Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of Meridian stock traded up $0.71 on Monday, reaching $14.07. 17,650 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,755. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.71. Meridian Co. has a fifty-two week low of $9.02 and a fifty-two week high of $17.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.70.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $27.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.93 million. Meridian had a net margin of 8.28% and a return on equity of 10.01%. On average, analysts expect that Meridian Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Meridian Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Meridian’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Meridian from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Meridian from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRBK. Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new position in Meridian in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,742,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Meridian by 113.9% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 79,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 42,106 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meridian by 410.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 52,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 42,004 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its stake in Meridian by 161.4% in the 4th quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 48,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meridian in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $395,000. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meridian

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.