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

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 255,130 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,440 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.29% of Brookline Bancorp worth $3,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in 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 objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Brookline Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $14.50 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Brookline Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Brookline Bancorp Price Performance

BRKL opened at $12.32 on Friday. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.01 and a 1 year high of $13.15. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.79. 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 results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Brookline Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Brookline Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.