15,625 Shares in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,625 shares of the savings and loans company's stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 91.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,732 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,181,000 after buying an additional 36,076 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 81,602 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $4,850,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $1,635,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 100.7% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 33,322 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 16,719 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on DCOM shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Dime Community Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dime Community Bancshares news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 9,815 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total transaction of $306,228.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,158,986.40. This trade represents a 20.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 1,729 shares of company stock valued at $48,021. 9.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ DCOM traded up $0.31 on Wednesday, hitting $26.13. The stock had a trading volume of 59,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,833. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.29 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.49 and a 52-week high of $37.60. The business's fifty day moving average price is $27.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.66.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.02. Dime Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 4.50%. The firm had revenue of $103.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.