Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) CEO Christopher J. Annas Buys 1,500 Shares of Stock

Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) CEO Christopher J. Annas acquired 1,500 shares of Meridian stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.99 per share, with a total value of $13,485.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 357,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,217,323.22. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Meridian Price Performance

NASDAQ MRBK opened at $8.75 on Friday. Meridian Co. has a one year low of $7.80 and a one year high of $14.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.40 and a 200 day moving average of $11.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $97.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.70.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. Meridian had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 7.64%. The firm had revenue of $45.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.68 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meridian Co. will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Meridian Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.71%. Meridian’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRBK. TheStreet cut shares of Meridian from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Piper Sandler downgraded Meridian from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $14.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strid Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meridian during the first quarter valued at $431,000. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meridian during the 4th quarter valued at about $476,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Meridian during the 4th quarter valued at about $670,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Meridian by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 92,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meridian by 11.8% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 191,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 20,138 shares during the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.