First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. $DCOM

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCOM) by 46.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,856 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,886 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.15% of Dime Community Bancshares worth $2,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DCOM. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dime Community Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 742.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 326.4% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,808 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 4,446 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the third quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in Dime Community Bancshares in the first quarter worth $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DCOM. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Dime Community Bancshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:DCOM opened at $40.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.44. Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.63 and a 52-week high of $41.97.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Dime Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 36.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dime Community Bancshares

In other news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.73, for a total transaction of $75,114.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,052. The trade was a 5.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 53,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total transaction of $2,160,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,440 shares in the company, valued at $262,494.40. This represents a 89.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 165,219 shares of company stock valued at $6,634,621 in the last three months. 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.