Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Purchases $16,180.00 in Stock

Meridian Corp (NASDAQ:MRBK) Director Kenneth Warriner bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.18 per share, with a total value of $16,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,529. This trade represents a 32.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Meridian Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MRBK traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.22. 82,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,666. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.67 million, a P/E ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meridian Corp has a 1 year low of $13.92 and a 1 year high of $21.67.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.03). Meridian had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 11.46%. The firm had revenue of $30.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 million. Analysts anticipate that Meridian Corp will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Meridian’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meridian in the 3rd quarter valued at about $289,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meridian during the first quarter worth about $345,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Meridian during the first quarter worth about $416,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meridian in the second quarter valued at about $660,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Meridian in the third quarter valued at about $938,000. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MRBK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meridian from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meridian from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Meridian from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 target price (down from $24.00) on shares of Meridian in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meridian presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Meridian Company Profile

Meridian Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Through its principal subsidiary, Meridian Bank, the company provides commercial and community banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals in the Mid-Atlantic region. Meridian Bank offers business lending, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, equipment financing, residential and consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management services and online banking. The company also provides mortgage banking and wealth management services, including investment and financial planning solutions.