Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC Purchases 76,689 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 177,961 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,689 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bankshares comprises 0.5% of Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $3,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 8,112.5% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 90.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $130,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EBC shares. Zacks Research downgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert Francis Rivers purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.21 per share, for a total transaction of $860,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 403,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,940,345.54. This trade represents a 14.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total transaction of $6,142,332.13. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $687,211.36. This represents a 89.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of EBC opened at $18.43 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.51 and a 12 month high of $20.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.31 and its 200-day moving average is $17.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 73.72 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 208.00%.

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.