Donald Michael Westermann Sells 21,256 Shares of Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) insider Donald Michael Westermann sold 21,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.11, for a total value of $427,458.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,494.60. This represents a 50.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of EBC stock opened at $20.49 on Friday. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.51 and a 1 year high of $20.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.98 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.84. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $243.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $287.09 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Eastern Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 126.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,947 shares in the last quarter. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Eastern Bankshares by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 90.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

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.