Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) CFO R David Rosato Purchases 5,000 Shares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) CFO R David Rosato acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.17 per share, with a total value of $95,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $18.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.29 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.51 and a 12 month high of $22.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.81.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $290.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.25%. As a group, analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $79,534,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,066,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835,474 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,018,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,680,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.