SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,713 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,216 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Eastern Bankshares were worth $389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EBC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eastern Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $37,196,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 2,666,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409,471 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Eastern Bankshares by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,080,479 shares of the company's stock worth $87,638,000 after purchasing an additional 960,591 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Eastern Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $13,499,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 203.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 900,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,533,000 after purchasing an additional 603,991 shares during the last quarter. 71.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Eastern Bankshares Trading Down 0.1%

EBC stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.21. The stock had a trading volume of 3,090,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,690. The company's 50-day moving average price is $15.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -23.40 and a beta of 0.95. Eastern Bankshares, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.51 and a 12-month high of $19.40.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $222.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $226.98 million. Eastern Bankshares had a positive return on equity of 6.42% and a negative net margin of 15.56%. On average, 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Eastern Bankshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 3rd. Eastern Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -80.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, Director Luis Borgen sold 2,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $452,571.60. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Eastern Bankshares 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.