Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,087,700 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 99,477 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 2.53% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $30,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BHLB. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,664,138 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $44,815,000 after acquiring an additional 293,784 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $6,672,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,769,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 441,143 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $12,542,000 after buying an additional 99,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 61.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 190,673 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,135,000 after buying an additional 72,402 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE BHLB traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 617,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,811. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.50 and a 1 year 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 market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.05.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last released its 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, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report 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, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.