Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Makes New $509,000 Investment in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S boosted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EBC shares. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC stock opened at $22.29 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.61 and a 52 week high of $23.77. The company has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $308.20 million. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $227,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,434.88. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 35,197 shares of company stock worth $809,724 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.26% 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.