Eastern Bank Cuts Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Eastern Bank reduced its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,450,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,380 shares during the period. Eastern Bank owned approximately 0.69% of Eastern Bankshares worth $26,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HoldCo Asset Management LP raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% in the third quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 6,408,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,319,000 after buying an additional 1,200,272 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 48.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,601,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,220,000 after buying an additional 847,891 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 54.5% during the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,597,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,151,000 after buying an additional 916,875 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter worth $34,680,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,891,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,876,000 after acquiring an additional 45,627 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, December 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.30.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $19.01 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.51 and a 1-year high of $22.58. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 46.37 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.15 and a 200-day moving average of $18.98.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $290.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 8.32%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,064.70. This trade represents a 51.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R David Rosato purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,650. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the United States. Founded in 1818 as Salem Savings Bank and later rebranded as Eastern Bank in 1989, the company preserved its mutual ownership structure for more than two centuries. In March 2020, it completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker EBC, while continuing to emphasize its community-focused heritage.

Through its primary subsidiary, Eastern Bank, the company delivers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking products.