Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $11.55 Million Stock Position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB - Free Report) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 406,321 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 16,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.95% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp worth $11,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHLB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2,259.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,265 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,869 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC bought a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BHLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other Berkshire Hills Bancorp news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the company's 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BHLB traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $23.15. The stock had a trading volume of 20,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,658. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.22 and its 200-day moving average is $27.96. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.76 and a 12-month high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.58.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 8.56%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Company 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.