Polaris Capital Management LLC Sells 12,200 Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Polaris Capital Management LLC cut its position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 397,680 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 12,200 shares during the quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned about 1.02% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $12,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DCOM. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 503,653 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $14,505,000 after buying an additional 162,004 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 91.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,732 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $2,181,000 after buying an additional 36,076 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 120.9% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 480,944 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $13,851,000 after buying an additional 263,225 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,090,834 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $31,416,000 after buying an additional 143,402 shares during the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Michael Fegan sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.76, for a total value of $71,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 20,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $720,742.80. This trade represents a 9.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L bought 1,043 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.23 per share, with a total value of $32,572.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,572.89. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Down 0.1 %

Dime Community Bancshares stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.12. The stock had a trading volume of 78,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,454. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 52.80 and a beta of 1.05. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.29 and a 52 week high of $37.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.79.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 4.50%. Analysts forecast that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Dime Community Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.40.

Dime Community Bancshares Profile

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for Dime Community Bank that engages in the provision of various commercial banking and financial services. The company accepts time, savings, and demand deposits from the businesses, consumers, and local municipalities. It also offers commercial real estate loans; multi-family mortgage loans; residential mortgage loans; letters of credit; secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans; lines of credit; home equity loans; and construction and land loans.