HoldCo Asset Management LP Purchases 1,200,272 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

HoldCo Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,408,772 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,200,272 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bankshares comprises approximately 12.3% of HoldCo Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. HoldCo Asset Management LP owned about 3.04% of Eastern Bankshares worth $116,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter worth $36,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the third quarter worth $49,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,650. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total transaction of $427,458.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,860 shares in the company, valued at $419,494.60. This trade represents a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Hovde Group began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price target for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.13.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $18.79 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.87. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 45.83 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.51 and a 1-year high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $290.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 8.32%. Research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.83%.

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.