AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 23,886 Shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 9,870.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,128 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,886 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,298,000. Northstar Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc. now owns 416,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,332,000. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ EBC opened at $21.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39 and a beta of 0.81. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.51 and a 52 week high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $243.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $287.09 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 126.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.50 target price for the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.13.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, CAO David Andrew Ahlquist sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 322,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.03, for a total value of $6,142,332.13. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,112 shares in the company, valued at $687,211.36. This represents a 89.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 354,027 shares of company stock worth $6,786,290 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% 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.