Northstar Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. $EBC

Key Points

• Northstar Asset Management cut its Eastern Bankshares position by 86.7% in the second quarter, selling 225,225 shares and retaining 34,430 shares valued at approximately $766,000. Institutional investors collectively own 71.68% of EBC.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with six Buy ratings and three Holds, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $24.86. Eastern Bankshares also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.49 EPS versus the $0.46 estimate.
• Eastern Bankshares declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to $0.60 annually and a 2.6% yield. The stock recently traded at $23.52, near its 52-week high of $23.75.

Northstar Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 86.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,430 shares of the company's stock after selling 225,225 shares during the quarter. Northstar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EBC. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Eastern Bankshares by 40.1% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 98,100 shares of the company's stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 28,100 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,472,122 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,740,000 after purchasing an additional 35,169 shares during the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth $1,074,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 768,621 shares of the company's stock worth $15,034,000 after buying an additional 121,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Eastern Bankshares in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Eastern Bankshares from $23.50 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Eastern Bankshares presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In related news, Director Luis Borgen sold 1,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.71, for a total value of $38,834.10. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Eastern Bankshares Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:EBC opened at $23.52 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $22.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.71 and a 1-year high of $23.75.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $316.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $308.20 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 25.12%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eastern Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Eastern Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Eastern Bankshares's payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

About Eastern Bankshares

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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