Systematic Financial Management LP Reduces Stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,847,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,477 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP owned about 0.80% of Eastern Bankshares worth $36,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EBC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during 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. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $253,018,000 after buying an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,552,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,048,000 after buying an additional 939,740 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,385,000 after buying an additional 1,389,304 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,066,000 after buying an additional 4,835,474 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ EBC opened at $22.62 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.88 and a 1 year high of $23.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.43.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $316.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. Analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EBC shares. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.08.

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.