Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) Raises Dividend to $0.15 Per Share

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Monday, June 22nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a 15.4% increase from Eastern Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13.

Eastern Bankshares has a payout ratio of 27.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Eastern Bankshares to earn $2.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.9%.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 4.8%

EBC stock traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,818,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,086,143. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 47.62 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.98 and a 200 day moving average of $19.30. Eastern Bankshares has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $295.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 8.32%. On average, equities analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 9,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,064.70. This trade represents a 51.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO R David Rosato acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,650. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EBC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 185.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,437,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,835,474 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,548,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,919,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,304 shares in the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.