Private Advisor Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,131 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BHLB. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $34,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,423 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BHLB opened at $26.97 on Wednesday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.50 and a 1 year high of $32.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.35. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. Sell-side analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company 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.