Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 255,130 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 12,440 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Brookline Bancorp were worth $3,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BRKL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 109.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 647,100 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,529,000 after purchasing an additional 338,050 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 67.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 642,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,484,000 after buying an additional 258,267 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,133,365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,974,000 after buying an additional 224,888 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Brookline Bancorp by 99.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 212,904 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 106,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 384.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 59,333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $599,000 after acquiring an additional 47,094 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Brookline Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Brookline Bancorp stock opened at $12.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.79. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.01 and a 1 year high of $13.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.01). Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 5.94%. Equities analysts forecast that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Brookline Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 70.13%.

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.