Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 623.8% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 516,603 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $14,687,000 after purchasing an additional 445,228 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,672,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,547 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $36,719,000 after acquiring an additional 222,162 shares during the last quarter. Glendon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $4,902,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $3,769,000. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Berkshire Hills Bancorp

In other news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.97, for a total transaction of $31,528.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock opened at $23.58 on Wednesday. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.50 and a 1 year high of $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.00.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.06. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.91%. As a group, research analysts expect that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BHLB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Berkshire Hills Bancorp from $32.00 to $34.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.13.

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.