Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. holds approximately $32.03 million in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. after decreasing its shareholding by 3.4% in the first quarter.
• Eastern Bankshares has declared a $0.13 quarterly dividend, with an annualized yield of 3.3%, scheduled for payment on September 15th to investors of record as of September 3rd.
• Analyst firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has lowered the price target for Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating for the stock.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,952,732 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,102 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.91% of Eastern Bankshares worth $32,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 112.1% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 2,666,519 shares of the company's stock worth $45,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409,471 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,080,479 shares of the company's stock worth $87,638,000 after purchasing an additional 960,591 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth about $13,499,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 203.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 900,442 shares of the company's stock worth $15,533,000 after acquiring an additional 603,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,180,377 shares of the company's stock worth $68,558,000 after acquiring an additional 469,743 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EBC traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.80. 1,928,932 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,374,016. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -54.19 and a beta of 0.94. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.51 and a 52-week high of $19.40.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $249.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $241.32 million. Eastern Bankshares had a negative net margin of 6.49% and a positive return on equity of 7.35%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -167.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $20.00.

About Eastern Bankshares

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.