Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 419,070 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 19,363 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Brookline Bancorp worth $4,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,089,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,084,000 after purchasing an additional 26,714 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 99.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 212,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 106,345 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 88.5% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 25,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 12,173 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brookline Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 12.2% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 196,979 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 21,394 shares during the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BRKL. StockNews.com started coverage on Brookline Bancorp in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKL opened at $11.60 on Friday. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.01 and a 52-week high of $13.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 0.78.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.67 million. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 6.20%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Brookline Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 65.06%.

Brookline Bancorp Company Profile

Brookline Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Brookline Bank that provide commercial, business, and retail banking services to corporate, municipal, and retail customers in the United States. Its deposit products include demand checking, NOW, money market, and savings accounts. The company’s loan portfolio primarily comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; loans to business entities comprising commercial lines of credit; loans to condominium associations; loans and leases used to finance equipment for small businesses; financing for construction and development projects; and home equity and other consumer loans.