Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $5.08 Million Stock Holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,792 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 1,726 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp were worth $5,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BHLB. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 208,947 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 205,597 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,122,000 after acquiring an additional 16,440 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 397,579 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 53,162 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,382,777 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $27,725,000 after acquiring an additional 201,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ziegler Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Berkshire Hills Bancorp by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 30,221 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.07% of the company’s stock.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BHLB stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.24. The company had a trading volume of 22,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,936. Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.31 and a 12 month high of $25.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $962.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.00 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.14 and its 200 day moving average is $22.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp (NYSE:BHLB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The savings and loans company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Berkshire Hills Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 3.40%. The business had revenue of $169.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 20th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 20th. Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 144.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Berkshire Hills Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

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.