Sei Investments Co. Raises Stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 83.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 221,918 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,273 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.10% of Eastern Bankshares worth $4,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EBC. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 230.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 13,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 9,523 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,846,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535,094 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 357,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,993,000 after purchasing an additional 95,100 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 11.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of EBC stock opened at $23.19 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.68. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.95 and a 12 month high of $23.75.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $316.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 8.71%. On average, equities analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EBC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Hovde Group raised their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens cut Eastern Bankshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares 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.