J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Makes New $258,000 Investment in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,380 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,382,777 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $27,725,000 after purchasing an additional 201,948 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 397,579 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 53,162 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 355,266 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $7,123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,532 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 208,947 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 205,597 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $4,122,000 after purchasing an additional 16,440 shares in the last quarter. 83.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Down 1.1 %

BHLB opened at $22.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.25. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.07 and a twelve month high of $25.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $960.47 million, a P/E ratio of 44.20 and a beta of 0.87.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 3.40%. The firm had revenue of $169.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Berkshire Hills Bancorp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Baye Adofo-Wilson sold 10,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $223,542.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Baye Adofo-Wilson sold 10,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $223,542.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael Zaitzeff sold 51,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.18, for a total value of $1,307,093.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,665 shares in the company, valued at $67,104.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 224,788 shares of company stock worth $5,239,449. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company 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.