Insider Selling: Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) President Sells $755,040.00 in Stock

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) President Quincy Miller sold 33,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total transaction of $755,040.00. Following the sale, the president owned 33,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $767,349.44. The trade was a 49.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

EBC stock opened at $22.98 on Thursday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.03 and a twelve month high of $23.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.79 and its 200-day moving average is $21.18.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $311.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.60 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 24.04%. Equities research analysts forecast that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 34.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 32.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.14.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Boston. The company provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, cash management and digital banking. Through its banking and affiliated businesses, Eastern also offers commercial lending, wealth management and insurance services. Its operations primarily serve businesses, individuals and organizations in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.