Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Shares Bought by Banc Funds Co. LLC

Banc Funds Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,948 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 21,875 shares during the quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned about 0.25% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $3,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of DCOM. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Dime Community Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at $39,073,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 86.3% in the fourth quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 620,155 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $19,060,000 after buying an additional 287,195 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,739,614 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $84,202,000 after buying an additional 256,466 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 433.6% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 277,168 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $8,519,000 after acquiring an additional 225,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,850,000. Institutional investors own 75.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DCOM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L purchased 1,043 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.23 per share, for a total transaction of $32,572.89. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,572.89. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,031.25. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 1,729 shares of company stock worth $48,021. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Dime Community Bancshares Trading Up 1.7 %

DCOM stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 128,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,495. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.40 and a beta of 0.96. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.49 and a 1 year high of $37.60.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.01. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 5.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Dime Community Bancshares's payout ratio is 169.49%.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc operates as the holding company for Dime Community Bank that engages in the provision of various commercial banking and financial services. The company accepts time, savings, and demand deposits from the businesses, consumers, and local municipalities. It also offers commercial real estate loans; multi-family mortgage loans; residential mortgage loans; letters of credit; secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans; lines of credit; home equity loans; and construction and land loans.