Bank of America Corp DE Has $4.29 Million Position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 39.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,576 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 91,564 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.36% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $4,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 2,064,565 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $63,454,000 after acquiring an additional 30,202 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,118,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 140,287 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 4,106 shares during the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,842,000. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 14,119 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares during the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of DCOM stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $26.07. 261,732 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,967. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.49 and a fifty-two week high of $37.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.19 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $103.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.83 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 4.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.3438 dividend. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.27%. This is a positive change from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 158.73%.

Insider Activity at Dime Community Bancshares

In related news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total value of $51,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,327.36. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DCOM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens cut their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dime Community Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.88.

About Dime Community Bancshares

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.