Banc Funds Co. LLC Buys New Holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Banc Funds Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 86,206 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $2,451,000. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned about 0.20% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,241 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,411 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,292 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.87. 93,742 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,018. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $26.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.94. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.76 and a 1-year high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.13.

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.