Empowered Funds LLC Buys 13,023 Shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. $DCOM

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) by 7.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 190,377 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after buying an additional 13,023 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Dime Community Bancshares were worth $6,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DCOM. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Dime Community Bancshares by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,263,230 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $128,281,000 after purchasing an additional 857,001 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,321,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 97.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 432,464 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $12,900,000 after purchasing an additional 212,934 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 271.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 266,005 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $7,935,000 after purchasing an additional 194,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 599,103 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $18,027,000 after purchasing an additional 99,011 shares in the last quarter. 75.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of DCOM opened at $40.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.99. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.63 and a 12 month high of $41.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Dime Community Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Dime Community Bancshares’s payout ratio is 36.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Dime Community Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Dime Community Bancshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dime Community Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.75.

Insider Transactions at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 32,751 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $1,277,944.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,785 shares in the company, valued at $264,750.70. This represents a 82.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.09, for a total value of $61,198.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,320,663.63. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,803 shares of company stock valued at $3,101,749. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Company Profile

Dime Community Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Dime Community Bank, headquartered in Hauppauge, New York. Through its subsidiary, the company offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial customers. With a network of branches spanning the New York metropolitan area and South Florida, Dime Community Bancshares emphasizes relationship banking and local decision-making.

The company’s core lending activities include commercial and multifamily real estate loans, construction and land development financing, and one-to-four-family residential mortgage lending.