State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Invests $1.94 Million in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 118,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,943,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EBC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $25,000. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1,155.9% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 4,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 18.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EBC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Eastern Bankshares from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Quincy Lee Miller sold 12,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $211,182.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $18.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.95 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.41. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.86 and a 12 month high of $19.15.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $299.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $215.92 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 38.00%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 18.97%.

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.