GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 3,049.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,766 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,821 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,778 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,791 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 301,626 shares of the company's stock worth $5,203,000 after buying an additional 2,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 381,764 shares of the company's stock worth $6,585,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Up 1.0%

Eastern Bankshares stock opened at $14.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.46. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.85 and a 52 week high of $19.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of -22.03 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $222.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $226.98 million. Eastern Bankshares had a negative net margin of 15.56% and a positive return on equity of 6.42%. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Eastern Bankshares's payout ratio is presently -80.00%.

Insider Transactions at Eastern Bankshares

In other news, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.68, for a total transaction of $36,816.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $426,292.16. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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.

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.

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