Trexquant Investment LP Sells 83,664 Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Trexquant Investment LP decreased its holdings in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 63.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,388 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 83,664 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.11% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $1,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,241 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BHLB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.13.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BHLB traded up $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.72. 36,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,558. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.58. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.50 and a 12 month high of $32.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.03.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

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.