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

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Director Joseph Casey sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total value of $236,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 92,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,174,905.98. This trade represents a 9.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:EBC traded down $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $22.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,601,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,551,703. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.74 and a 12-month high of $23.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders 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 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EBC shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens lowered Eastern Bankshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Eastern Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 32.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 27,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 179,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,739,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.