Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC Stock Position Decreased by M3F Inc.

Key Points

• M3F Inc. reduced its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 19.5%, owning 505,971 shares after selling 122,796 shares during the first quarter, making the stock its 13th largest holding.
• Eastern Bankshares reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, exceeding the analysts' estimates, and had revenue of $249.10 million, surpassing expectations of $241.32 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, with a yield of 3.0%, despite a negative dividend payout ratio of -167.74%.

M3F Inc. decreased its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 505,971 shares of the company's stock after selling 122,796 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bankshares comprises 2.3% of M3F Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. M3F Inc. owned 0.24% of Eastern Bankshares worth $8,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 342.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 108,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 83,629 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 134,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 13,716 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,286,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,447,000 after purchasing an additional 442,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 62,365.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 26,860 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 26,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of EBC stock opened at $17.11 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $15.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.51 and a twelve month high of $19.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.19 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 3.0%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -167.74%.

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.

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