Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $455,000 Investment in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 27,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $339,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the first quarter valued at $739,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the first quarter worth $169,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Eastern Bankshares by 135.0% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 23,737 shares of the company's stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 13,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 44.6% in the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 29,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 9,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBC traded up $0.21 on Friday, hitting $15.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 898,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,622,589. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a one year low of $13.51 and a one year high of $19.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.16 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. Eastern Bankshares had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 6.49%. The business had revenue of $249.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $241.32 million. Research analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is -167.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 29,011 shares in the company, valued at $452,571.60. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Eastern Bankshares 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.