Towle & Co. Lowers Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Towle & Co. decreased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 20.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,560 shares during the quarter. Towle & Co. owned about 0.07% of Eastern Bankshares worth $3,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.08.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ EBC opened at $22.62 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.88 and a 1-year high of $23.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $316.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 26.28%. As a group, research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given 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 currently 33.71%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.