1,034,483 Shares in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Acquired by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,034,483 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $29,410,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 2.41% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised 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. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 1.0 %

Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.14. The stock had a trading volume of 363,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 364,176. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.76 and a 1-year high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $25.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 0.58.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $110.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.71 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's payout ratio is 29.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, 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 Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.13.

About Berkshire Hills Bancorp

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.