Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Insider Donald Michael Westermann Sells 23,005 Shares of Stock

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 23,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.43, for a total transaction of $492,997.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $483,567.95. This represents a 50.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Donald Michael Westermann also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 1st, Donald Michael Westermann sold 10,407 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.77, for a total transaction of $226,560.39.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of EBC traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.01. 2,986,839 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,506,249. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.96. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.61 and a 1 year high of $23.77.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%.The company had revenue of $316.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter worth $5,066,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,857 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 111,811 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter valued at about $1,074,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.