Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 28,100 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 40.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,100 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $2,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,292,857 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. increased its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. now owns 624,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,514,000 after purchasing an additional 111,811 shares during the period. Minerva Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at $1,153,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 25.0% during the 1st 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. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

EBC stock opened at $23.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.84. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.71 and a 12-month high of $23.75.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.20 million. On average, analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on EBC shares. Stephens downgraded Eastern Bankshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.86.

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.