Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Invests $981,000 in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 53,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EBC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,138,000 after buying an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,362,000 after buying an additional 1,292,857 shares during the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP boosted 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 worth $116,319,000 after buying an additional 1,200,272 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,311,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,884,000 after purchasing an additional 992,160 shares during the period. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $17,721,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of EBC stock opened at $19.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.10 and a 1 year high of $22.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, May 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.92.

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.