Fourthstone LLC Purchases Shares of 155,171 Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 155,171 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $4,412,000. Berkshire Hills Bancorp makes up 0.9% of Fourthstone LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Fourthstone LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 623.8% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 516,603 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $14,687,000 after purchasing an additional 445,228 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,672,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,547 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $36,719,000 after acquiring an additional 222,162 shares during the last quarter. Glendon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $4,902,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,769,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BHLB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Four 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.13.

Insider Transactions at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:BHLB traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.60. The company had a trading volume of 364,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,981. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.58. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.76 and a 1 year high of $32.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

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.