Impax Asset Management Group plc Boosts Stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 184,460 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.47% of Eastern Bankshares worth $18,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 54,664 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,091,000 after buying an additional 29,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,948,000 after buying an additional 484,277 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC stock opened at $21.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.15. The company has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.61 and a beta of 0.81. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 8.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,518 shares in the company, valued at $206,064.70. This trade represents a 51.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the insider owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 354,027 shares of company stock worth $6,786,290 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.13.

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.