Weiss Asset Management LP Boosts Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Weiss Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 142.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,613 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,717 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $1,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835,474 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,018,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407,066 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $33,548,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,846,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $22.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $14.88 and a one year high of $23.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.46.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $316.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.09%.

Eastern Bankshares News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Eastern Bankshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Eastern Bankshares delivered a Q2 earnings beat, with EPS of $0.49 versus $0.46 expected and revenue of $316.0 million versus $308.2 million estimated. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile and yield appeal. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s Q2 earnings call transcript may provide additional color on loan growth, margins, and credit trends, but no major new catalyst was highlighted in the provided summary. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change in positioning, with reported short interest at 0 shares, offering little signal for near-term trading pressure.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.08.

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.