48,300 Shares in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC Purchased by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Key Points

• Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund initiated a 48,300-share position in Eastern Bankshares valued at approximately $1.07 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.68% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with six Buy ratings and three Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $24.86. Recent targets range from $22 to $26.
• Eastern Bankshares exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.49 in EPS versus a $0.46 estimate and $316.01 million in revenue versus $308.20 million expected. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 48,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,074,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S boosted its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 533.3% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,900 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total transaction of $38,834.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on EBC. TD Cowen raised their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $26.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays lowered their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens lowered shares of Eastern Bankshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $23.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.71 and a 12 month high of $23.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.68. The business's fifty day moving average price is $22.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.82.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $316.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.

Eastern Bankshares 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.

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