481,736 Shares in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 481,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,714,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.21% of Eastern Bankshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at $498,672,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,066,000 after buying an additional 4,835,474 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,018,000 after acquiring an additional 3,407,066 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,548,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,475 shares in the company, valued at $464,987.25. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 1,778 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.69, for a total value of $40,342.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 60,301 shares in the company, valued at $1,368,229.69. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,197 shares of company stock valued at $809,724. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

EBC opened at $21.96 on Tuesday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.61 and a 1 year high of $23.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.68. 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, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 25.12% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Hovde Group upped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.86.

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.