Westchester Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 148,244 Brookline Bancorp, Inc. $BRKL

Key Points

• Westchester Capital Management LLC acquired 148,244 shares of Brookline Bancorp, Inc., valued at approximately $1,616,000, marking a new stake in the bank.
• Brookline Bancorp's stock rating has been upgraded to "hold" by Wall Street Zen, with an average target price of $15.25 among analysts.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, providing an annualized yield of 4.9%.

Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 148,244 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,616,000. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Brookline Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,063,404 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,591,000 after acquiring an additional 23,440 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 98,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 15,270 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,683,640 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,052,000 after acquiring an additional 62,998 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,039,038 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,226,000 after acquiring an additional 135,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 282,508 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,079,000 after acquiring an additional 59,867 shares in the last quarter. 78.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Brookline Bancorp to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $15.25.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

Brookline Bancorp stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.95. 5,639,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 632,617. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $10.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $975.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.91. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.28 and a 1 year high of $13.15.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The business had revenue of $94.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.90 million. Brookline Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 12.12%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Brookline Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Insider Activity at Brookline Bancorp

In other Brookline Bancorp news, insider Janytra M. Brooks sold 3,763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.28, for a total transaction of $38,683.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $455,630.16. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brookline Bancorp Company Profile

Brookline Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Brookline Bank that provide commercial, business, and retail banking services to corporate, municipal, and retail customers in the United States. Its deposit products include demand checking, NOW, money market, and savings accounts. The company's loan portfolio primarily comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; loans to business entities comprising commercial lines of credit; loans to condominium associations; loans and leases used to finance equipment for small businesses; financing for construction and development projects; and home equity and other consumer loans.