Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) Position Raised by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 269,338 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,594 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.30% of Brookline Bancorp worth $3,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Brookline Bancorp by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,879 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Brookline Bancorp by 174.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,154 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Brookline Bancorp by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Brookline Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $111,000. 78.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookline Bancorp Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BRKL opened at $12.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.22. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.01 and a 52 week high of $13.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.79.

Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.01). Brookline Bancorp had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 5.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BRKL. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Brookline Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised Brookline Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

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.