Focus Partners Wealth Buys Shares of 80,062 Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 80,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,381,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Eastern Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 836.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,219 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 5,555 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,000. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO R David Rosato purchased 10,000 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.40 per share, for a total transaction of $154,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $308,000. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of Eastern Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.60, for a total transaction of $36,628.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,571.60. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 4.2%

Eastern Bankshares stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,280,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,166. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.66 and a 12 month high of $19.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $15.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.99.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Eastern Bankshares had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 6.02%. The business had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $226.98 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -80.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

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.