Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires 22,594 Shares of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL)

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 269,338 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 22,594 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.30% of Brookline Bancorp worth $3,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRKL. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 124.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,879 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,829 shares of the bank's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 64,734 shares of the bank's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 174.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.91% of the company's stock.

Brookline Bancorp Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKL traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.66. The stock had a trading volume of 366,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 532,971. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.01 and a twelve month high of $13.15.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.01). Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 10.51%. On average, research analysts predict that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. Brookline Bancorp's payout ratio is 70.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BRKL. Raymond James upgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $14.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

About Brookline Bancorp

Brookline Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Brookline Bank that provide commercial, business, and retail banking services to corporate, municipal, and retail customers in the United States. Its deposit products include demand checking, NOW, money market, and savings accounts. The company's loan portfolio primarily comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; loans to business entities comprising commercial lines of credit; loans to condominium associations; loans and leases used to finance equipment for small businesses; financing for construction and development projects; and home equity and other consumer loans.