Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management cut its Eastern Bankshares stake by 5.1%, selling 305,774 shares and retaining 5.68 million shares worth approximately $126.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.68% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with six Buy ratings and three Holds; the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $24.86.
• Eastern Bankshares exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.49 EPS and $316.01 million in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing a 2.8% annualized yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,680,338 shares of the company's stock after selling 305,774 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 2.49% of Eastern Bankshares worth $126,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter valued at $498,672,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,728,558 shares of the company's stock worth $253,018,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407,066 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,874,030 shares of the company's stock worth $403,138,000 after buying an additional 2,440,017 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $33,548,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter valued at about $38,188,000. 71.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EBC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Eastern Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 1,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.69, for a total value of $40,342.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,301 shares in the company, valued at $1,368,229.69. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,197 shares of company stock valued at $809,724. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC opened at $21.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.61 and a 12-month high of $23.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.09%.

Eastern Bankshares Company 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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