Anyone interested in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) should probably be aware that the Director, Robert Kaminski, recently divested US$198k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$49.51 each. On the bright side, that sale was only 3.4% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

Mercantile Bank Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Director Robert Kaminski was not their only sale of Mercantile Bank shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$242k worth of shares at a price of US$48.73 per share. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$49.10, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 3.8% of Robert Kaminski's holding.

In total, Mercantile Bank insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Mercantile Bank insiders own about US$24m worth of shares. That equates to 3.0% of the company. 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?

Insiders sold Mercantile Bank shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Mercantile Bank you should be aware of, and 1 of these doesn't sit too well with us.

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.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.