Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC trimmed its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,387 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 2,993 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.22% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $2,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,376 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% in 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. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:BHLB opened at $24.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.84. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.76 and a twelve month high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. 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%. The business had revenue of $110.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.71 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Berkshire Hills Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.13.

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.