Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 60,192 Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 60,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,109,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 valued at $403,138,000 after buying an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,200,272 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,311,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,884,000 after buying an additional 992,160 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,601,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,220,000 after buying an additional 847,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,597,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,151,000 after purchasing an additional 916,875 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $19.85 on Monday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.10 and a 1-year high of $22.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.80 and its 200-day moving average is $19.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 29.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on 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 initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.92.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, CFO R David Rosato bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.