Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 15,383 Shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 423,307 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,383 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $12,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 282.1% during the fourth 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. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $1,044,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $822,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 204,481 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $5,813,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 129,923 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $3,694,000 after buying an additional 2,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

Berkshire Hills Bancorp stock opened at $26.13 on Friday. 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 $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.26. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.50 and a 1 year high of $32.36.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The savings and loans company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BHLB shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Berkshire Hills Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ellen Tulchiner sold 1,052 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.