Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 32,549 Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,155 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after selling 32,549 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.46% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $5,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,739,614 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $84,202,000 after acquiring an additional 256,466 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,073,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 902,619 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $27,748,000 after purchasing an additional 42,610 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 759,241 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $23,335,000 after purchasing an additional 39,686 shares during the period. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 86.3% during the 4th quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 620,155 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $19,060,000 after purchasing an additional 287,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.27% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.25, for a total value of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L purchased 1,043 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $31.23 per share, for a total transaction of $32,572.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,572.89. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 1,729 shares of company stock valued at $48,021 in the last 90 days. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DCOM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Dime Community Bancshares from $36.00 to $32.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.88.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of DCOM stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,394. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 0.96. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $17.49 and a one year high of $37.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.62. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $103.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $105.83 million. Dime Community Bancshares had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 5.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.3438 dividend. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.35%. This is an increase from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.73%.

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.