Insider Selling: Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Director Sells $37,546.73 in Stock

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Director Luis Borgen sold 1,709 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.97, for a total transaction of $37,546.73. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $487,404.45. The trade was a 7.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

EBC stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,939,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,566,000. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.98. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.88 and a 12-month high of $22.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.68 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBC. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 54,664 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the first quarter valued at $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 5,028 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,091,000 after acquiring an additional 29,781 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,948,000 after acquiring an additional 484,277 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.08.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

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.