Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC Stock Position Lifted by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 98.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 188,493 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,296 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $3,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter worth about $498,672,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,124,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603,128 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,846,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535,094 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,188,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,479,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Donald Westermann sold 23,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.43, for a total transaction of $492,997.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $483,567.95. This trade represents a 50.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Casey sold 1,778 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.69, for a total value of $40,342.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,301 shares in the company, valued at $1,368,229.69. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 65,190 shares of company stock valued at $1,452,900 over the last 90 days. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Eastern Bankshares News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Eastern Bankshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings exceeded expectations. Eastern Bankshares reported adjusted earnings of $0.51 per share, up from $0.37 a year earlier and $0.02 above the $0.49 analyst consensus. Reported revenue was $311.7 million versus expectations of $310.6 million. Eastern Bankshares Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained. The bank declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share, payable December 21 to shareholders of record December 7. The $0.60 annualized payout equates to a reported yield of approximately 2.7%, supporting the stock’s income appeal. Eastern Bankshares Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary may shape the next move. The Q3 earnings call transcript provides additional details on loan growth, margins, credit quality and the company’s outlook, but the available headline does not identify a specific new catalyst. Eastern Bankshares Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Credit-loss data remains a potential risk. Eastern Bankshares reported net loans charged off during the quarter ended September 30. Without the charge-off amount or comparison with prior periods in the headline, investors may view the disclosure as a reason to monitor asset quality and future provisioning. Eastern Bankshares Reports Net Loans Charged Off

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $22.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.70. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.61 and a 52-week high of $23.77. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $311.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.60 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 9.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Investors of record on Monday, December 7th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc (NASDAQ:EBC) is the holding company for Eastern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1818, Eastern Bank is one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the United States to have converted to public ownership.

Eastern Bank provides a range of personal and business banking products, including checking and savings accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, commercial loans, cash-management services and online banking.