The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stake in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM - Free Report) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 661,608 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after buying an additional 180,664 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 1.69% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $20,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DCOM. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $480,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 36,076 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in 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 buying an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Dime Community Bancshares by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 56,472 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,736,000 after buying an additional 18,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth $4,850,000. 75.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DCOM. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dime Community Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Dime Community Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 9,815 shares of the business'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 value of $306,228.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 37,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,986.40. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 41,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,287,031.25. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

Dime Community Bancshares stock opened at $26.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.49 and a fifty-two week high of $37.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.49. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.17 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Dime Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.3438 per share. This represents a $1.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. This is a positive change from Dime Community Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Dime Community Bancshares's dividend payout ratio 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.

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