Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC Invests $717,000 in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 32,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,138,000 after buying an additional 2,440,017 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 249.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,810,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,857 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 624,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,514,000 after acquiring an additional 111,811 shares during the period. Minerva Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $1,153,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 25.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,447,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,319,000 after purchasing an additional 289,458 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $227,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,410,434.88. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,419 shares of company stock valued at $769,381. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $22.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.50 and a twelve month high of $23.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.95.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%.The business had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares presently has an average 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.