Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Stock: Insider Quincy Lee Miller Sells 33,000 Shares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) President Quincy Miller sold 33,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.88, for a total value of $755,040.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 33,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $767,349.44. This trade represents a 49.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $23.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.70. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.03 and a twelve month high of $23.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $311.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.60 million. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 9.37%. Equities research analysts expect that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 34.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,066,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,074,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 42.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,124,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603,128 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth $28,708,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 25.0% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,447,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,319,000 after acquiring an additional 289,458 shares during the period. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Stephens downgraded Eastern Bankshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Eastern Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.14.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Boston. The company provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, cash management and digital banking. Through its banking and affiliated businesses, Eastern also offers commercial lending, wealth management and insurance services. Its operations primarily serve businesses, individuals and organizations in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.