Focus Partners Wealth Buys New Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 80,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,381,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 836.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,219 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,555 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,246 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $172,000. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $178,000. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:EBC traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $14.78. 728,827 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,128,750. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06 and a beta of 0.97. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.66 and a fifty-two week high of $19.40. The business's 50-day moving average is $15.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.95.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $226.98 million. Analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eastern Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 3rd. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -80.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO R David Rosato acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.40 per share, with a total value of $154,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $308,000. The trade was a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.60, for a total transaction of $36,628.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,571.60. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Eastern Bankshares Company Profile

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.