Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (EBC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.13 on March 20th

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th.

Eastern Bankshares has a dividend payout ratio of 27.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Eastern Bankshares to earn $1.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.2%.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $20.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 48.90 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Eastern Bankshares has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $20.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.97 and a 200 day moving average of $17.70.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 8.32%.The firm had revenue of $243.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $287.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $6,142,332.13. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $687,211.36. This represents a 89.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Francis Rivers bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.21 per share, for a total transaction of $860,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 403,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,940,345.54. The trade was a 14.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eastern Bankshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8,112.5% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 90.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.