118,855 Shares in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 118,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,643,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EBC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $498,672,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,018,000 after buying an additional 3,407,066 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,552,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,048,000 after acquiring an additional 939,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,304 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

EBC stock opened at $22.01 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.97. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.61 and a 1-year high of $23.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.66.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%.The company had revenue of $316.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 34.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Hovde Group upped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens downgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 23,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.43, for a total transaction of $492,997.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $483,567.95. This represents a 50.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $227,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,434.88. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,609 shares of company stock valued at $1,529,281. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.