Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $485,000 in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,051 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $485,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,119,475 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $57,455,000 after acquiring an additional 18,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 21.4% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 293,784 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 423,307 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $12,035,000 after purchasing an additional 15,383 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,672,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,481 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $5,813,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Four research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.13.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Down 0.3 %

Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.90. 617,101 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,811. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.50 and a 52 week high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's payout ratio is 50.00%.

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.