Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Stock Position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 55.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,591 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 46,208 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.09% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $1,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 861.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,782 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,697 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ DCOM opened at $26.66 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $17.49 and a 1-year high of $37.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.19 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.61 and a 200-day moving average of $30.35.

Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.57 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $105.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.3438 dividend. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. This is a positive change from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Dime Community Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 158.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on DCOM shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens cut their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler raised Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dime Community Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 41,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,287,031.25. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 9,815 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total transaction of $306,228.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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