Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 821 Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 282.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $31,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 13.2% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BHLB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Berkshire Hills Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.13.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BHLB opened at $26.04 on Thursday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $32.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.42 and a 200-day moving average of $28.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 0.85.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.