Joseph Casey Sells 10,000 Shares of Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Director Joseph Casey sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total value of $229,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 72,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,933.84. The trade was a 12.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $22.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.68. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.50 and a 52 week high of $23.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.95.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. Research analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.86.

Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EBC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,362,000 after buying an additional 1,292,857 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 624,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,514,000 after buying an additional 111,811 shares during the last quarter. Minerva Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $1,153,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,447,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,319,000 after acquiring an additional 289,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Company 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.