Insider Selling: Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Director Sells 1,710 Shares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Luis Borgen also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 29th, Luis Borgen sold 1,709 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.97, for a total transaction of $37,546.73.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ EBC traded down $0.19 on Tuesday, hitting $22.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,497,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,555,344. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.88 and a 1-year high of $22.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.41 and its 200 day moving average is $20.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.67.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 26.28%.The business had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.68 million. As a group, analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HoldCo Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 6,408,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,272 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292,857 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 54.5% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,597,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,151,000 after purchasing an additional 916,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 624,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,514,000 after purchasing an additional 111,811 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EBC shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, June 8th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.08.

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.