XTX Topco Ltd Takes Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,684 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% during the fourth 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 period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BHLB traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.68. The company had a trading volume of 138,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,826. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.76 and a 12 month high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $110.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.71 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.