Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 250,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 79,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Brookline Bancorp were worth $2,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 109.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 647,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,529,000 after purchasing an additional 338,050 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 67.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 642,651 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,484,000 after buying an additional 258,267 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,951,000 after buying an additional 249,113 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 491,756 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,106,000 after acquiring an additional 158,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,042,000. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

Brookline Bancorp stock opened at $12.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $8.01 and a one year high of $13.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 0.79.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.67 million. Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 6.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Brookline Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 65.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BRKL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Brookline Bancorp in a report on Saturday, January 11th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

About Brookline Bancorp

Brookline Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for the Brookline Bank that provide commercial, business, and retail banking services to corporate, municipal, and retail customers in the United States. Its deposit products include demand checking, NOW, money market, and savings accounts. The company’s loan portfolio primarily comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; loans to business entities comprising commercial lines of credit; loans to condominium associations; loans and leases used to finance equipment for small businesses; financing for construction and development projects; and home equity and other consumer loans.