Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Insider Donald Michael Westermann Sells 21,256 Shares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 20,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,494.60. The trade was a 50.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of EBC traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.41. 2,204,902 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,966,758. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.51 and a 12 month high of $20.89.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.40 million during 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%. Research analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is 126.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 41,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 3,122 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 33,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,746 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 10,945 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,857 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.