Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $11.04 Million Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired 496,320 shares of Eastern Bankshares worth approximately $11.04 million, while other hedge funds also established new positions. Institutional investors collectively own 71.68% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with six Buy ratings and three Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $24.86. Eastern Bankshares recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.49 in EPS and $316.01 million in revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to $0.60 annually and a 2.7% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 35,197 shares worth $809,724 over the past 90 days.

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 496,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,038,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned 0.22% of Eastern Bankshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at $717,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at about $6,717,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $2,106,000. Raffles Associates LP bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,335,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Eastern Bankshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $464,987.25. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph F. Casey sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $227,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 62,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,434.88. This represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 35,197 shares of company stock valued at $809,724 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EBC. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens cut shares of Eastern Bankshares from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.86.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ EBC opened at $22.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick 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.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%. Sell-side analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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