Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 629 Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,336 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 629 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,119,475 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $57,455,000 after purchasing an additional 18,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,664,138 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $44,815,000 after purchasing an additional 293,784 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 952,627 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $25,654,000 after purchasing an additional 114,433 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 340,694 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $9,175,000 after purchasing an additional 75,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,672,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

BHLB stock opened at $29.50 on Thursday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.50 and a 52 week high of $32.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.88.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. Analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.13.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Profile

Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Berkshire Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company provides various deposit accounts, including demand deposit, interest-bearing checking, regular savings, money market savings, time certificates of deposit, and retirement deposit accounts.