Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Sells 96,092 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. reduced its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 722,549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96,092 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bankshares makes up approximately 2.2% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $12,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EBC. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 301,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,203,000 after purchasing an additional 2,887 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 142,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,451,000 after buying an additional 53,871 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,028,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,498,000 after acquiring an additional 59,339 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Eastern Bankshares by 479.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 36,344 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $18.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82 and a beta of 0.94. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.22 and a 12 month high of $19.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.13.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 6.02%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.64%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Deborah C. Jackson sold 5,713 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.56, for a total transaction of $106,033.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 67,284 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,791.04. The trade was a 7.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.