Eastern Bankshares, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.13 (NASDAQ:EBC)

Key Points

• Eastern Bankshares, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $0.52 and a yield of 3.26%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 3rd.
• The company reported earnings of $0.41 per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and had a positive return on equity of 6.42% despite a net margin of -15.56%.
• Institutional investors own 71.68% of Eastern Bankshares' stock, highlighting significant institutional interest in the company's shares.

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share on Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd.

Eastern Bankshares has a dividend payout ratio of 27.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Eastern Bankshares to earn $1.72 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 30.2%.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

EBC traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $15.96. 3,424,347 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,367,046. The business's 50 day moving average price is $15.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.55 and a beta of 0.94. Eastern Bankshares has a 1 year low of $13.51 and a 1 year high of $19.40.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a positive return on equity of 6.42% and a negative net margin of 15.56%. The company had revenue of $249.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.32 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.60, for a total value of $36,628.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 29,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $452,571.60. This represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBC. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the first quarter valued at about $130,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the first quarter valued at about $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,254,000 after purchasing an additional 54,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,091,000 after purchasing an additional 29,781 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

Eastern Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank that provides banking products and services primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. The company provides deposit accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time certificates of deposit accounts.

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