Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,021 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,926 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Eastern Bankshares worth $2,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 836.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 5,555 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $172,000. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $178,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $14.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.69. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.66 and a 52-week high of $19.40.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 6.02%. The firm had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $226.98 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently -80.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total transaction of $36,816.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,292.16. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.40 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,000. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.