Bayview Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 344,828 Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Bayview Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 344,828 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $9,330,000. Berkshire Hills Bancorp accounts for approximately 7.5% of Bayview Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Bayview Asset Management LLC owned about 0.80% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 142.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,291 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 805.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% in the 4th 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. 83.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.13.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.55. 147,054 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,007. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.76 and a 52-week high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.53.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $110.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.71 million. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Insider Transactions at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In related news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total value of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp 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.