JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,298,192 shares of the company’s stock after selling 166,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.61% of Eastern Bankshares worth $19,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EBC. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,948,000 after buying an additional 484,277 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 109,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 29,058 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,770,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,240,000 after purchasing an additional 93,157 shares in the last quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter worth $950,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter valued at $3,122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of EBC opened at $18.91 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.05 and its 200 day moving average is $16.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 75.64 and a beta of 0.83. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $19.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $162.26 million during the quarter. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 4.97%. Research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 208.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, insider Robert Francis Rivers bought 50,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.21 per share, with a total value of $860,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 403,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,940,345.54. This trade represents a 14.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO R David Rosato bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.08 per share, for a total transaction of $170,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $512,400. This represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on EBC shares. TD Cowen began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

Eastern Bankshares Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.