First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. $DCOM

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

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Dime Community Bancshares by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,353,786 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $79,602,000 after acquiring an additional 23,035 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 3.3% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 21,219 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares during the first quarter valued at $202,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 198,465 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,712,000 after purchasing an additional 3,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Dime Community Bancshares by 2,583.3% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,116 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 9,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.27% of the company’s stock.

Dime Community Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of DCOM opened at $40.34 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.44. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.63 and a 12 month high of $41.97. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.99.

Dime Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Raymond A. Nielsen sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.73, for a total transaction of $75,114.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,052. This trade represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Basswood Capital Management, L sold 53,000 shares of Dime Community Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.76, for a total value of $2,160,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,494.40. The trade was a 89.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 165,219 shares of company stock worth $6,634,621. Corporate insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Dime Community Bancshares 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.